swept away by the current, a group of swimmers barely rescued

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L. Seux, O. Longueval, L. De Casanove, V. Piffeteau, S. Estrade, V. Poulain – France 3

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It is a tragedy that was narrowly avoided, Saturday August 20 at the end of the afternoon in Biarritz, in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques, when the risk of baïnes was maximum. A group of 18 bathers was swept away by the current, requiring the intervention of a helicopter.

A few hundred meters from the shore, a helicopter comes to the aid of a group of swimmers. A rescuer jumps into the water, and a first swimmer is airlifted and brought back to shore. The operation is repeated several times, the other bathers are rescued by jet-ski. The current swept away 18 people at once, on a beach in Biarritz (Pyrénées-Atlantiques). All will come out unscathed, despite the stress and fatigue.

A 20-year-old man is among the survivors. “When I turned towards the beach, I saw that I was really far away, and that I probably couldn’t come back because there were very strong currents”, says Paul Prétéché. Thomas Robin was on duty on Saturday August 20. The rescuer reacted very quickly: “I knew it was going to go very quickly, that I had to be there and be able to secure people”. Successful operation, despite a particularly rough sea.

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