Couple who forgot clothes on beach in France spark rescue search
The search effort included a helicopter, the coastguard, firefighters and local boats
The coastguard in France has warned people not to leave their belongings on the beach without letting others know where they are going, to avoid false search and rescue alarms
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A couple who accidentally left some clothes behind on a beach in France unwittingly sparked a search and rescue operation after beach users feared they had got into trouble in the water.
The alert was raised in Lège-Cap-Ferret (Gironde, Nouvelle-Aquitaine) at 1:30am on Sunday morning (July 30) after abandoned clothes were discovered on the Piraillan beach.
Emergency services feared that the couple may have got into difficulty in the sea and thus not been able to return for their belongings.
The search effort included a helicopter, the coastguard, firefighters, and local boats. However, both bathers were “found safe and sound at 06:15”.
They had simply gone home after getting out of the water, accidentally forgetting some clothes on the sand.
False alarm warning
The false alarm comes after the lifeguard and coastguard agency La Société nationale de sauvetage en mer (SNSM) warned that it does not have enough trained lifeguards to cover beaches across France in August. It has now launched an emergency recruitment drive in a bid to find qualified personnel.
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Only last week, coastguards in France warned people to let others know if they are going into the sea, and to pick up all their belongings when returning home after using the beach to avoid others mistakenly thinking that they may still be in the water.
They also warned people against calling them for minor issues (such as a stuck buoy or property left on the beach) and to only call in a genuine emergency.
Quentin de Fierville, a member of the coastguard team in Bandol, Var, last week warned: “If we are going after a false alarm, the time it takes to figure out that it’s a false alarm [and] we’re not available for a real emergency, such as someone in the water in real difficulty.”
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To call the coastguard for a genuine seaside emergency in France, dial 196 or 112.
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