Saturday, 26th July 2008

Dial 119 and... nothing will happen

Ian Tirchett, Fgura

I would like to recount an episode that, besides causing inconvenience to a number of swimmers, could have been the cause of a tragic incident.

One Sunday afternoon we headed to Xropp l-Għaġin in Delimara to enjoy a couple of hours in the water. Unfortunately, when we arrived at 2 p.m. we found about three jet skis very close to the shore. Another one arrived shortly afterwards and with an abrupt manoeuvre the driver pulled his jet ski to a stop. Needless to say, people had to come out of the water both due to the danger and also because of the oil residue that these engines released in the sea.

We immediately called 119 to report this incident and were assured that a patrol was being sent.

After 45 minutes doing nothing but looking from the rocks at the jet skis, we decided to call once again 119. Once more, we were told that a patrol was on the way. Finally, we couldn't resist the heat any more and, along with other swimmers, decided to take the risk and go into the water. At about 3.30 p.m. (one and a half hours after our first call) the jet skis decided to leave.

It must also be said that, following this, jet skis and small dinghies were continually passing in between the swimmers.

Those who know the area can easily understand that there is an alternative route (just around the other side of the rock). We finally decided to leave at 6.30 p.m. disgusted by the fact that after more than four hours no patrol boat was to be seen.

I really do hope that such incident is an isolated case because this is a very serious breach of safety at sea.

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Article © Allied Newspapers Ltd., printed on Saturday, November 21, 2009. This article is for personal use only, and should not be distributed.

Comments

M. Debono (on 26/7/08)

Totally agree on how to handle an emergency number. When you call 112, and you explain the accident to the officer, he re-directs you to the department concerned. So, for example, if you ask for the ambulance, the officer replies that he is going to connect you with Mater Dei. This means, that one needs to repeat again the accident details and explain location details, etc. The main concern is if there is someone dieing and the precious minutes trying to call 112, being passed to ambulance, etc, etc. I think, it should be the 112 to take the details and coordinates the emergency plans obo of the citizen, according to what has been reported.

Franco Farrugia (on 26/7/08)

I hope that this correspondence is taken up by the authorities-that-be. This is a very serious accusation - the 119 is an extremely important lifeline and is so important that the EU deemed it to be the same number all over the EU members states. Are we just paying lip service to the good things that the EU is introducing?

agrech (on 26/7/08)

Emergency numbers should be treated as such - Emergency. A few months ago, late at night, we heard a big bang. A car smashed against a wall. I immediately called 112 to report it before I went to see if I can be of help to whoever was involved in the accident. It took several rings before an operator answered.

Police were on the spot within very short minutes and luckily, no one was seriously injured.