Monday was a dark day on the Romanian coast. Four people died after entering the stormy sea at the resort of Mamaia. The yellow flag has been flying since the morning, even before the tragic event, as a sign that only professional swimmers can swim. The rescuers drew attention to the fact that people do not follow the instructions and risk the waves of the sea at the cost of their lives. A fourth man, aged 38, who was taken to hospital in a serious condition after being resuscitated on the shore, has died, Ziua de Constanza reports.

The three men who died in Mamaia on Monday were 34, 43 and 46 years old and were from Dambovitsa, Calarasi and Arges, Ziua de Constanța reported. They were on the beach when a 16-year-old girl was swept away by a strong current and dragged out to sea.

The three entered the rough seas to save her, even forming a lifeline to save them all, witnesses said, Observer News reported.

“More people entered, who formed a circle of people and took some of them out, but the wave still took some of them. They surrounded the two halves and left,” the witness said.

“I went in with a rescuer, a rescuer who, unfortunately, is also lying on the ground. Everything happened in this part here. The water was up to the waist and everyone lost power. In total, you were in the water for about 8. They were taken to the other shore, we pulled out three, the rescuers pulled out one more, and the others came with a Skyjet and pulled everyone out,” another witness said.

Strong winds and high waves made it difficult to rescue people.

“It was something very, very fast. It was a very difficult intervention. I understood that two or three girls entered the water, another person realized that something was wrong, they entered to rescue. The rescuer also came to save them,” said the rescuer.

“A live chain was formed at the site, the intervention was extremely difficult due to large waves and strong sea turbulence. Arriving at the scene, my colleagues, with the help of rescuers and private economic operators, managed to pull two conscious people out of the sea from the sea,” said ISU Dobruja spokesperson Ana Maria Stoyka.

Rescue calls are ignored

Another person died on Monday after drowning in another area of ​​the Mamaia resort.

And on Neptune, four tourists were in danger of drowning, ignoring the calls of rescuers, who raised a red flag on the entire coast of Romania.

• “Tell the tourists not to insist on entering the water! They put their lives in danger, but they also put us, the rescuers, in danger. I have been wheezing since today, since morning, since I notified them, prayed, scolded, but in vain. They have only one goal: to rush into the waves. We try in vain.
• Parents sit on deckchairs with phones and tablets, while children jump into the waves with floaties and other very dangerous floating devices. Our tourists do not respect, they do not have even the most elementary common sense to respect the golden rule: when there is danger, do not go drowning. We pulled out four of them ourselves and transferred them to an ambulance with vital functions,” Vasile Borteš, head of Neptun rescuers, told Digi 24.

“They have no problems, they don’t care”

He says that tourists have only one argument: they gave money and want to feel good:

• “They have no problems. They don’t care. Even if they are told that people have disappeared, they don’t care, they are not afraid. My poor colleagues are desperate.
• I understand them very well and feel sorry for them. They are wonderful people, but we also have our powers, we cannot do more because we are not kites. We run eight, ten kilometers along the beach from morning to evening so that tourists feel good. They don’t understand that.”

What are “rip currents” in the Black Sea and what are the most dangerous areas on the Romanian coast

Experts draw attention to “rip currents” in the Black Sea, which are extremely dangerous.

• “These beaches are dangerous from rip currents. They are seaward currents of water from the beach area to the sea, perpendicular to the beach and characterized by a horizontal water flow.
• Swimming against this current is like swimming up a mountain river. You have no chance to advance,” Florin Tetui, a professor at the Faculty of Geography at the University of Bucharest, explained to Digi24.

He added that the beaches of Eforie Nord, Kostinesti, May 2, Jupiter, Venus and Saturn were the most affected.

• “If you are caught by a strong current and you feel that you are being pulled into the sea, you should remain calm, do not panic and try to float away. These currents do not pull us to the bottom, but we float out to sea, and at quite high speeds. Try to wave your hands and call for help. Don’t swim against the current.
• We should swim parallel to the beach until we feel that we are no longer being pulled out to sea, and then swim towards the beach,” said the expert.