Two people lost their lives on the Day of Goodwill, Tuesday 26 December.
The City’s Mayco member for Safety and Security, JP Smith, says a father jumped into the sea at Gordon’s Bay and drowned while attempting to rescue his son. They were fishing when the boy was swept off the rocks.
“In the second incident, an elderly gentleman drowned at Soetwater. He had gone into the water to take out his daily crayfish quota, he suffered a heart attack and drowned. In both cases attempts were made to resuscitate the victims, but to no avail.”
“An estimated 45 000 people made their way to the city’s beaches and swimming pools. This is fewer than expected when compared to the same time last year and we suspect this was due to the wind,” says Smith.
Last festive season the City had seven drownings between 1 December 2016 and 3 January 2017 (compared to 13 cases which were recorded over the same period the previous year).
“The consumption of alcohol on the beaches and unattended minors requires continued vigilance. Liquor confiscations on the city’s beaches were again at a record high, with revellers finding new and innovative ways to try and conceal their alcohol. This year more than 900 bottles of alcohol were confiscated on the Christmas weekend alone. This included 492 beers, 293 ciders, 62 bottles of spirits and 53 bottles of wine. This figure is likely to rise as we are still receiving confiscated alcohol,” says Smith.
Nearly 40 children went missing on beaches over the weekend, but all were reunited with their families, he says.
“Our Identikidz Programme has to be commended for ensuring that little ones who get lost are returned safely.”
The City’s Social Development and Early Childhood Development directorate coordinates the programme, in which parents and caregivers can register their children when they arrive at participating beaches, and each child receives an identifying information bracelet.
