Alex Trelinski
A BRITISH man has become the seventh person to drown at a Guardamar del Segura beach this year.
The 72-year-old was swimming on Thursday opposite the Benamor residential complex, located south of the city.
Emergency services were called in at around 3.30pm and bathing conditions were said to be good.
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When paramedics arrived, the man had already been taken out of the water in an unconscious state.
Resuscitation measures produced no response.
His death happened outside the time where Cruz Roja lifeguards provide a reduced early autumn service.
They were at their posts between 10am and 2pm, which normally sees the largest number of bathers at this time of year.
Nevertheless, record early October temperatures have seen many more people hit beaches than normal.
The lifeguard service ends on October 15.
Guardamar’s beaches suffered four deaths- including that of a British national- in just four days in early June when there were no surveillance or lifeguard services.
On July 25, a couple in their eighties died when the man suffered a heart attack in the sea and his wife suffered a similar fate when she went in to help him.
Guardamar has 11 kms of beaches that are exposed to easterly winds and strong sea currents that can pose serious problems to bathers.
Warning signs about those risks have been erected by Guardamar City Council.
