Drowning tragedy could have been averted

As one of the people who witnessed the drowning incident on Sunday, I would like to point out that the sign on the beach at the Venus Beach does not state no swimming and in fact has an old and tatty red flag in place.

My husband Stewart Buchanan was the person who went in the water with a life ring and rope to try and save the drowning man. No one else got into the water at this stage and the man was already floating on top of the water dead. My husband could not reach him as the waiter from the hotel did not let out enough rope, and one of the life rings on the beach was missing. I must also point out that no help came for ages.

It is indeed very sad that such a large hotel with sun beds leading down to near the water’s edge does not appear even to have a first aider, let alone anyone who is life guard trained. Also, no helicopter was sent and no one at the hotel seemed to have any idea how to co-ordinate in the case of such an emergency. The man in the water stood no chance

On Sunday, I spoke to the police and to the hotel manger along with others who made complaints, and they all said it was not their problem. All I can say is that it is their problem as they should not put their guests at risk and on Sunday they did. The hotel does not tell its guests that there are any problems with the beach. It would be nice if the sign on the beach said no swimming, but it in fact does not state this. The previous two days running another man and a child were also pulled to safety.

If only the beach had been clearly marked and the hotel had a plan of action, then this man would not have died. I felt at a loss that such a terrible thing should happen when it could have been avoided. My heart goes out to the family and I so, so wish we could have helped more.

Sandra Buchanan

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