Politics

“This summer, safe dip”, the new campaign of the Security Consortium to prevent drowning

“It seeks to prevent accidents in the aquatic environment and teach the necessary guidelines to know how to act in an emergency”, says Marcos Bergaz

July 14 2022 (15:16 WEST)

Updated in July 14 2022 (15:17 WEST)

Campaign presentation in Puerto del Carmen

The Security and Emergency Consortium of Lanzarote, in collaboration with the Mapfre Guanarteme Foundation, presented this Thursday at the Pila de la Barrilla or Playa Chica in Puerto del Carmen, the campaign 'This summer, safe dip', an initiative focused on improving the safety of the island's coastline during the summer period.

The presentation ceremony was attended by the President of the Consortium, Marcos Bergaz; the mayor of Tías, José Juan Cruz, and the coordinator of the Activity of the Mapfre Guanarteme Foundation, Laura Ojeda, together with other public representatives and the students of the Training and Alternation Plan in employment (PFAE) “Safe Beaches”, which is being taught in the municipality of Tías.

Precisely, the presentation began with a heartfelt tribute to the PFAE student who lost his life last Sunday in the waters of Lanzarote, with his colleagues and attendees paying him an emotional tribute, after observing a respectful minute of silence.

“It should be remembered that in 2021 there were 260 deaths throughout Spain due to drowning, of which five took place on the island of Lanzarote, which forces us all to insist on precautionary and preventive measures, in addition to being prepared to be able to act in the event of an aquatic accident”, Bergaz pointed out.

He then explained that “the objective of the campaign is to make citizens aware of the main prevention measures to avoid accidents in the aquatic environment and teach the necessary guidelines to know how to act in an emergency”.

Likewise, Bergaz detailed that “the project will be extended to all the municipalities of the Island between the months of July and August” and pointed out that, “since its beginning in the summer of 2017, until its fifth edition, it has reached more than 7,470 people”.

“The coasts have numerous dangers and, in a place like Lanzarote and La Graciosa, where people enjoy our coastline every summer, it is the duty of the institutions to keep people informed and act with prevention to avoid drowning and other accidents”, Bergaz concluded.

During the inauguration, CPR workshops and a simulation were carried out by the instructor Benjamín Nieves as a demonstration of what to do in the event of a near-drowning.