Call for more safety measures on beaches |30 November 2011

I have gone through a near death experience myself through a drowning incident at Silhouette during my scouting days – luckily as if by a miracle I was saved in the nick of time, but I know how horrendous it is to die in this manner having had a really agonising taste of which I shall never forget.

We should now feel compelled after this terrible accident to provide safety measures on our beaches, particularly a popular beach like Beau Vallon where many people, visitors and locals alike, frequently go for a swim.

There should be constant patrol and supervision all along that beach especially when the sea is rough and where swimmers are of course more vulnerable. There should also be some readily available basic life-saving equipment like ropes and buoys etc. that could be thrown to swimmers in difficulty, but most important of all one or two rescue dinghies and first aid facilities.

I know accidents happen very quickly, more quickly than one can imagine. I am not blaming any one here, but I am simply suggesting that safety measures be put in place urgently to avoid such tragedies in the future.

John Adam