The drowning of two French tourists in Xwejni last Saturday has spurred the Government to start an information campaign targeted at foreigners, with the aim of preventing similar tragedies.
“Maltese people know that in rough weather conditions certain beaches should be avoided but foreigners, possibly due to lack of sea experience, are less cautious,” said a spokesman for the Home Affairs Ministry.
The announcement comes as the autopsies on the two bodies confirmed that both Emma Yanicostas, 17, and Pierre Berlatier, 53 – last seen struggling against the storey-high waves and a strong undertow – died from drowning.
The Home Affairs spokesman said that following queries on the rescue operation by Times of Malta, such as why it took the helicopter long to arrive on the scene, a thorough assessment of the timeline of events was carried out to ensure that the search and rescue effort was flawless.
“The whole operation was backtracked to double check that no time was lost at any point. Given the weather conditions, sadly there was nothing else that the Search and Rescue team could have done,” said the spokesman.
He made an appeal for people to call 112 in emergencies rather than dialling the police station – as happened in Xwejni – as that could save precious time. “112 directs you immediately to the needs of the emergency case,” he said.
Next week heads of the Civil Protection Department, Armed Forces of Malta, Police Force, the health sector as well as Malta Tourism Authority will be meeting for a debriefing and a post-mortem of the rescue operation, tackling the prevention aspect of such accidents.
“The idea is that together with the Malta Tourism Authority, the Home Affairs Ministry will run a campaign targeted at foreigners visiting the island so they are aware that, when it’s very rough, they have to keep out of the sea,” he said.
Asked if there were any plans to put up safety flags on all the beaches, he said it might be difficult to man flags all over the coast.
Foreigners, possibly due to lack of sea experience, are less cautious
“What we can do is promote an ‘Ask a Local’ campaign. When the weather conditions are rough, and visitors are in doubt, they can turn to a Maltese person for advice,” he said.
As part of the campaign, which has still to be devised, leaflets will be distributed at the Malta International Airport with information on the beaches and swimming.
The Xwejni tragedy is the second drowning accident this year, claiming a total of seven lives – all of them French.
In May five French tourists were on a small boat that was battered by rough seas and the same Force 7 northwesterly wind.
The tourists were returning to their yacht anchored at Dwejra after having had dinner at a Xlendi restaurant. The bodies of two of them, Philippe Grimaud and teenager Dani Chmouni, have still not been found.