Two weeks ago, two British dentists, one of whom was the father of three young children, drowned while swimming in the afternoon at the Blue Lagoon in Comino. The men, who were both 35 years old, worked together in Birmingham. A third partner in the firm who was with them survived.
Witnesses have said that the men were only 30 metres away from the busy beach when they started calling for help. Members of the AFM tried to help the two men and one was taken by private boat to nearby Mġarr Harbour, while the other was flown by helicopter to the Gozo general hospital. Both were sadly later certified dead.
The conditions at the Blue Lagoon were windy and it is believed the two men were caught in strong and dangerous undercurrents, where a narrow shallow channel of sand cuts across a deep basin. It is said the current is always worse when there are strong winds, as they were that day.
The death of two relatively young men with families is always a tragedy. Could it have been prevented?
Any beach can be dangerous. Malta, despite its beautiful beaches and high quality sea, has a number of areas that look deceptively welcoming but pose hidden dangers to the unwary visitor. And it is, indeed, almost invariably the tourist to Malta who gets into difficulties while swimming, leading to many drownings each year. Golden Bay, the stretch between Għajn Tuffieħa and Ġnejna, Dwejra in Gozo and other stretches of coastline can all be notoriously dangerous. Each year they attract foreign tourists, with sometimes tragic results.
Tourists attracted by the hot May (or even late April) weather are often tempted into the water. While everybody who swims in the sea must take appropriate precautions, there may be a reasonable case for arguing that Malta’s own duty of care to visitors to our shores – who bring with them such an annual boost to our economy – should lead to the Malta Tourism Authority taking minimal steps early or late in the season (September and October), to warn swimmers of potential dangers at specific beaches.
There are a number of options for doing this. In the Maltese swimming season, lifeguards are posted on some of the beaches. Other beaches fly a flag warning of dangerous conditions if the sea is rough or unsettled. Small police patrol boats patrol the bigger, more popular beaches, not only to ensure safety at sea but to ensure speed boats or water-skiers do not endanger swimmers in the water.
The Blue Lagoon at Comino Bay is one of the beaches which, during the popular Maltese swimming “season,” is safeguarded in this manner. A judgement must be made – essentially by the Minister for Tourism, in conjunction with the police – whether precautionary arrangements should be put in place earlier in the season than they are done now, and extended beyond the end of what is regarded by the Maltese as the swimming season, into October.
It is a matter of balancing the costs against the benefits. If the Blue Lagoon had been manned and flagged as it is later, the two lives lost a fortnight ago might almost certainly have been saved. If Malta is commited to its tourists – and to its reputation as a safe and beautiful place to enjoy swimming – then the costs of providing these limited facilities at the known more vulnerable swimming areas are justified.
On balance, it would appear to be a worthwhile investment to pay for saving lives and enhancing Malta’s tourism product.