Joe Duggan (Reporter)
KITESURFERS have launched a petition to improve beach safety after the deaths of two young surfers in Tarifa.
Tereza Jelinkova and an unnamed 30-year-old German drowned off Los Lances beach on Sunday after getting into trouble at sea.
Another young man had to be resuscitated on the beach.
Reports suggest the three kitesurfers were unable to get out of the water after their lines got tangled.
So far over 1,000 people have signed the petition demanding Tarifa town hall installs permanent all-year watch towers and first-aid facilities at the beach.
Ania Kondera, a friend of Teresa, posted on Facebook: “Kitesurfing brings millions into the economy. Safety is not much to ask for in return.”
Lifeguards are good for tourists and locals enjoying a quiet day on the beach but for higher risk sports the people should be prepared to supply their own people to act as lifeguards. Surely they could take it in turns between participating and watching, councils should not be expected to pick up the bill for their risky behaviour.
Completely disagree John. Kite surfing brings in millions of Euros for Tarifa and is one of the kite surfing capitals of Europe. One in three of the retail shops within Tarifa are linked to the sport. The council should be putting more effort in to back up all the surf schools that fund their economy! Sad weekend for Tarifa.
You have given the solution in your comment. if so many shops are making millions out of visitors coming to do Kitesurfing then would it not be beneficial for them to club together for the safety measures and advertise the fact that that is what they are doing and get more customers.
I know and they should not kite surf on los lances it is forbidden the red cross is on valdevaqueros where the kite zone is.
A granny got taken 100m with the wire around her neck from los lances she did not die
a kite novice was dragged to the bus station he died hitting all the buildings
they should not be on los lances there are zones
of course I get angry and scared when they are in the wrong place
and yes i hate hearing the ambulances they are young kids
they could be mine
So because you like to participate in a dangerous sport it is someone elses responsibility to ensure your safety? Shut up. Personal responsibility is the key here. if you are a novice, don’t do it alone. If you are good at it then you should know better than to do it in areas not designated as safe. Your choice, your responsibility.
Get another handle, that one is taken (long ago).
I walked past this girl only a few months ago and saw her in all her awe, in wetsuit holding kite board, how sad. It’s a wonder more accidents don’t happen as it is a dangerous sport. Create a few extra jobs to watch out for them
It is intolerable the death of young and healthy people in so stupid way.
In my opinion, better than more lifeguards would be to make obligatory the possession of a card for all the kitesurfers which would ensure that they know the tecnics of this sport. Another measure could be to forbid excesive number of kite surfers in determined zones.
The person needed to check those cards/licences would be obliged to spend all day on the beach and need paying for his time. (Out of licence fees).
If he could count, he would be able to restrict numbers. If he also had life-saving skills he could be known as a Lifeguard!
Not exactly. I´m thinking about a thing similar to the existing nowadays with the scuba diving. For to have a licence is neccessary to pass a medical exam, a theoretical and practical test and to have an accident insurance.
Apart from English humour going over your head Anselmo, you still haven’t addressed the issue of policing your system ON THE GROUND. (Or the beach if you prefer)
I think that would be very easy to ensure that the kite surfers have a licence