German tourist drowns in Paphos

A 72-year-old German tourist died whilst swimming off the coast in Chlorakas in Paphos on Sunday lunchtime.

Carl-Fritz-Siegrief Bittorf, who was staying at a hotel in the area, was swimming in the sea with a number of other holidaymakers, when one of them realised that the German had lost conciousness and that his body was sinking down to the seabed.

Bathers in the area rushed to his aid and managed to pull him out of the water and onto the beach. Despite their efforts and those of the ambulance crew to revive him, he died.

The victim was a regular visitor to the area, mainly during the winter time.Fellow bathers said that the waters had been calm at the time of the incident.

President of the Paphos beaches committee, Nicos Similides said that the beach where the tourist had been swimming had been manned with a lifeguard who could’ve used the defibrillator machine to help save the man’s life.

He added that the sea had been calm and he believed that the man’s death had been caused by underlying health problems.

He added that Paphos municipality had purchased six of these specialised heart machines and trained lifeguards in their use at the start of the season.

He said that even though lifeguard cover on Paphos beaches had stopped for the year on October 31, the municipality is still maintaining three beaches with lifeguards following specific timetables for the winter period.

An autopsy is being carried out on the German to determine the exact cause of death.

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