Swimmer deaths in south-west France: why rip currents are so dangerous
Authorities have advised people on the best way to escape being dragged out to sea
A rip current, seen here from above, can quickly pull a swimmer into deep water
AM Photo Co/Shutterstock
After two swimmers died this weekend in south-west France after getting caught in dangerous rip tides, and with hundreds of others requiring emergency rescue, warnings have been issued about the dangers of these currents.
The deaths occurred in two separate incidents at unsupervised areas on Sunday, May 24, with a 56-year-old woman drowning at Lège-Cap-Ferret, and a 63-year-old man at the Super Sud beach in Lacanau.
The man’s wife was rescued from the sea and is recovering in hospital.
The prefecture confirmed the deaths in a statement, and said conditions had been particularly hazardous due to strong surf and overcrowded beaches.
What is a rip current?
Rip currents (called baïnes in French) can look calm and feel warm, but quickly become dangerous. Typically found in France on the Atlantic coast, they often appear during low tide, when the sea digs out a narrow passage in the sand as it ebbs and flows.
As the tide comes in, water is pulled out of the sand depression in a fast, narrow channel that flows away from the shore. A swimmer caught in the channel can very easily be dragged out to sea in the current, going from calm shallows to deep water very fast. The force of the current means that swimming against it is futile, and even strong swimmers can become exhausted very quickly.
How to identify a rip current
Rip currents are not always easy to see, but they tend to appear as:
Shallower, calmer ‘lagoons’ of water on the shore
A slightly different colour than the water around it
An area where the waves appear to be ‘cresting’ less than the area around it
The calmest areas of the shore are often the most dangerous.
It is also recommended to only swim on beaches that have lifeguards on duty, and when the conditions are marked as safe.
How to escape a rip current
Try not to panic if you notice yourself being pulled out to sea, as this can exhaust you.
If you notice yourself being carried, ignore the urge to fight the current. Instead, float on your back initially, and then swim strongly parallel to the beach (rather than swimming against the current directly towards the shore).
This will enable you to escape the rip current (which goes directly away from the shore). Once you are out of the current, you can then swim back to safety more slowly, to avoid fatigue.
Heatwave rescues
The weekend fatalities come amid a spell of unusually hot weather across south-western France, with temperatures reaching 30C in parts of the region, and exceeding 35C in some areas.
The heatwave has accelerated the start of the beach season, bringing high numbers of swimmers to unmonitored stretches of coastline.
Authorities said that since May 22, 31 people have been carried out to sea by baïnes currents along the Gironde coast, requiring multiple rescue interventions.
Officials have reiterated calls for people to avoid taking risks at the beach noting that many areas are not fully supervised.
“The resources we can deploy are limited; our coastline at Lacanau stretches for 16 kilometres, and we simply cannot monitor it all,” Laurent Peyrondet, mayor of Lacanau, said to Ici Gironde.
