RNLI warns of ‘very real risk’ after five teenagers die in open water
Five teenagers have died as temperatures soared past 30C, prompting the RNLI to warn of the “very real risk” of swimming in open water during the heatwave.
The charity said on Tuesday that whilst temperatures hit record highs for May over the bank holiday weekend, water temperatures remained low and could lead to cold water shock.
This can lead to hyperventilation, a spike in heart rate and blood pressure as the body reacts to cold water. In the worst cases, even competent swimmers can drown as their bodies cannot cope with the change in temperature.
The RNLI said in a statement on Tuesday: “While the air temperature is warm, the seas are still cold and cold water shock remains a very real risk.
“With many school children enjoying half term, the lifesaving charity is urging everyone to stay safe.”
The warning comes after police forces in South Yorkshire, West Yorkshire, Warwickshire, Lincolnshire, Lancashire and Devon and Cornwall were all called out to separate fatal open water incidents involving five teenagers and one man in his 60s.
On Sunday, a body was found in the search for a boy who got into trouble in a lake in Lincoln.
Emergency services were called to Swanholme Lakes at 2.30pm on Sunday after reports that 15-year-old Declan Sawyer had entered the water and was missing.
Meanwhile, on Monday afternoon a 13-year-old boy died after getting into difficulty at Leadbeater Dam, near Halifax, West Yorkshire.
A spokesperson for West Yorkshire police said the teenage boy was pulled from the water and taken to hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
That same afternoon, a man in his 60s died of cardiac arrest after entering the sea at Tregirls Beach, Padstow, to help two family members who had gotten into difficulty, Devon and Cornwall Police said. The two family members were brought to safety by members of the public.
On Monday evening, the body of a teenage girl was recovered from the water at Kingsbury Water Park, Warwickshire.
The body of a fourth teenager was recovered from the water at Rother Valley Country Park in the early hours of Tuesday morning after he went missing, South Yorkshire Police said.
A specialist search operation was launched following reports at 6.50pm on Monday that the boy had entered the water but had not been seen getting out.
On Tuesday evening, a body was recovered from the River Ribble after a 12-year-old boy got into difficulty while swimming with friends at Ribchester in Lancashire.