New beach safety campaign as lifeguard season begins on Belgian coast
At least one guarded lifeguard station will open in every Belgian coastal municipality this weekend as the summer bathing season officially gets underway. The rescue service will be gradually expanded in the coming weeks, with all 83 lifeguard stations operational from 1 July.
More than 1,400 lifeguards will be responsible for beach safety this summer. The season was officially launched on Friday in Westende.
This year, all elevated lifeguard chairs have been fitted with new information boards using universal pictograms instead of text. The boards provide information on supervised swimming zones, beach flags, dangerous currents, tide times and water temperature, while a QR code links visitors to additional information online.
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"We mainly want to make visitors aware of safe behaviour at the seaside. Anyone who swims in supervised zones and follows the lifeguards' guidelines significantly reduces the risks," said IKWV chairman Wim Demeester. "Good preparation can prevent a lot of tragedy."
The move is intended to overcome language barriers for visitors. The previous signs contained information in four languages.
West Flanders governor Carl Decaluwé also urged caution. "I find it so strange that people think: we'll go into the sea and just do whatever we want. As if it were a swimming pool. The temperature can be a huge shock to your body, and then there is the undertow."
Additional awareness campaigns will run throughout the summer, including a partnership with NMBS, encouraging visitors to swim only in supervised areas.
Lifeguards have also been instructed to report any suspected attempts by migrants to cross the Channel to the competent authorities, although they will intervene whenever lives are at risk.
#FlandersNewsService | © BELGA PHOTO NICOLAS MAETERLINCK
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