A man in his 30s has passed away after swimming at El Pinet beach in La Marina, recording the first beach fatality of the summer season within the Elche municipality. Municipal sources stated that the man suffered a heart attack while visiting the popular beach. Following immediate attendance by emergency services, he was placed in an ambulance, but despite the paramedics’ extensive efforts to save his life, he could not be revived during the journey to the hospital.
The incident took place last Friday morning, 26th June, though details have only recently emerged. The emergency response mobilised rescuers, local police officers, the Guardia Civil, Civil Protection, and medical staff in a SAMU emergency medical service vehicle.
However, bystanders at the scene have provided an account of the events that varies slightly from the official report. A woman who claims she was directly involved in the rescue stated that the man was a significant distance from the shore when he began crying out for help. According to her testimony, she and three other beachgoers leaped into the water to assist him before the lifeguards arrived.
The witness, who noted she had worked as a lifeguard in previous years, recounted finding the man already unconscious, face down, and foaming at the mouth after inhaling a large volume of water. Assisted by other swimmers, she managed to pull him to the shore, where she noted they met two arriving lifeguards.
Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) maneuvers were initiated immediately and reportedly lasted for around 40 minutes. Police officers subsequently joined the rescue attempt, bringing a defibrillator to the scene.
The witness has highlighted the incident to raise concerns regarding the beach surveillance system. She believes the distance between lifeguard stations slows down response times during emergencies in the central section of the beach, noting there is nearly a kilometre between stations, leaving a substantial stretch without permanent supervision.
Conversely, municipal sources maintain that the death was the direct result of a heart attack and clarified that the man passed away during the medical transfer in the ambulance after receiving initial care on the beach.
Since the beginning of the summer season, at least three swimmers have died on the southern coast of the Alicante province. On 22th June, two people drowned off the coast of Vega Baja in areas lacking active lifeguard cover at the time, despite the yellow flag flying. One casualty was a 24-year-old man at Mil Palmeras beach in Pilar de la Horadada, roughly forty minutes after the municipal lifeguard service had finished for the day at around 7:30 pm.
At the time, the Emergency Coordination Centre (CICU) indicated that when lifeguards arrived to pull him from the water, he was already in cardiac arrest due to severe difficulties exiting the sea. Hours earlier, another 23-year-old man was recovered unconscious from the coves of Torrevieja, a coastal stretch without lifeguard services which is known to be dangerous during rough sea conditions; paramedics were ultimately unable to revive him.
Additionally, in early June, it was revealed that the Guardia Civil was investigating the discovery of a body found on La Mata beach, on the border with Guardamar del Segura, after two paddle surfers reported seeing a lifeless body floating in the water.
