When Simon Pearson ambled into the sea with his young daughter in Italy on Tuesday, no one could have foreseen the tragedy that would unfold. The 47-year-old father of two and his daughter, ten, intended only to paddle in the shallows and the sea appeared safe. What the pair couldn’t see was the strong Adriatic current, which quickly dragged them farther from the shore.
It rapidly became clear that the pair were struggling. Pearson, fighting to save his daughter from drifting farther, trod water as fast as he could — but to no avail. The British company director had no chance of winning the battle with the ferocious sea and was pulled underwater, becoming unconscious.
As he struggled, a quick-thinking Italian beach club worker, Martino Maggi, 49, dived in and brought Francesca back to shore. Then he rushed back in to assist Pearson, but was pulled under himself. Despite the emergency services’ efforts to revive them, both were pronounced dead on the shore.
“I have two young children who have lost their dad,” said Pearson’s wife, Emma Jane, 43. “We are all traumatised.”
Peter Greene, 74, also found himself in trouble while swimming last week at Torre Canne beach, 7km north of Lido Bosco Verde, where Tuesday’s tragedy happened. The qualified scuba diver was taken to hospital after the current pulled him underwater. He says: “I was only 5m from the coast and tried to swim back to the shore, but couldn’t because I had taken seawater into my lungs, even though I was wearing a mask and snorkel.
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“I was in hospital for two nights and given oxygen for 24 hours,” he adds.
Our summer holidays, those two precious weeks spent flopped under the sun, are meant to be the highlight of the year. But for thousands of Britons each year, their time off ends in disaster. According to statistics from the Foreign Office, about 3,600 Britons are hospitalised overseas each year — many as a result of accidents that were avoidable. Each year a similar number of Britons die overseas. Most of these accidents and deaths occur in Spain, in part because the country is our most popular holiday destination, but also because of the high number of retired expats.
If you’re reading this in an airport departure lounge, or are one of the 2.4 million Britons due to jet off on holiday this weekend, the statistics are not pleasant. Many holiday accidents happen because of complacency and because people are relaxed in unfamiliar places. In the travel industry, it is common to hear people discussing how holidaymakers leave their common sense on the plane.
The Association of British Travel Agents (Abta) campaigns annually to remind us of holiday dangers. “It’s not a case of trying to nanny people,” says Sean Tipton, the spokesman for Abta. “It’s a case of trying to alert people to the everyday dangers people face on holiday.”
Tuesday’s tragedy is, of course, not the first time Britons have drowned off European beaches, unaware of riptides and dangerous currents. In 2007 an October half-term trip for three families to the Algarve in Portugal turned into tragedy when two parents and a family friend drowned trying to help seven children who had been caught by powerful currents while playing in the sea. A German tourist also died trying to save his daughter. In 2012 a five-year-old British girl and her grandfather drowned at Nazare, a Portuguese fishing village on a coast known for its huge Atlantic waves.
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“People need to appreciate and understand the risks when swimming in the sea and that the conditions can change very quickly,” says Mike Dunn from the Royal Lifesaving Society. “It is always safest to swim on a life-guarded beach, and always swim parallel to the shore — there is absolutely no need to swim out to sea.”
He adds: “However courageous it is to run into the sea and help someone in trouble, it is extremely dangerous and every year there are cases where local people rush to help tourists and tragically end up drowning themselves.”
“I was only 5m from the coast and tried to swim back to the shore
It was a lack of understanding of beach conditions that led to the death of Alison Tooby in 2012. The 52-year-old, from Wellington in Somerset, rushed into the sea at Bude in Cornwall after her two sons, aged 11 and 13, got into difficulties while bodyboarding. The boys had been dragged out of their depth by a riptide that they had not known about.
Beaches have a romance about them — great stretches of golden sand and crystal blue waters. For loved-up couples the allure of finding a hidden cove is great — no hordes of tourists, no men selling knock-off sunglasses — but if no one else is on that beach, do the locals know something you don’t? And who will you call for if you do get into trouble and there’s no lifeguard?
Meanwhile, for families with little ones nothing screams holiday more than a shorefront hotel with the safety of a lifeguard and supervised kids’ beach club.
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The two are polar opposites, but one thing remains the same — the sea. The dangers, however, are not always clear, and simply because there are rows of hotels and a beach bar — something many tourists take as a sign of safety — doesn’t mean the risks of strong currents or a steeply shelving seabed miraculously disappear.
“Hotels are located where they are for all sorts of reasons, and just because they are on a beach doesn’t guarantee that the sea is safe to swim in,” says Lee Hayhurst, the news editor at Travel Weekly magazine. “Holidaymakers should seek local advice on sea conditions and not assume everywhere is safe — just because the sea looks inviting doesn’t mean it’s safe.”
It’s not just drowning that can kill us while on holiday. Quad bikes and mopeds are among the biggest causes of injury — and death — of holidaymakers. Many rental firms ask for only a deposit and ID and have no way of checking whether the user holds a valid driving licence. To hire jet skis, many of which reach speeds of more than 50mph across the sea, users are not required to hold a driving licence. Because of the number of accidents, Abta urges Britons not to rent such vehicles while on holiday.
It has been a disastrous week for British tourists abroad. As well as the death of Pearson, the former EastEnders star Paul Nicholls, 38, remains in hospital in Thailand after falling from a jungle waterfall. The actor smashed his leg in the fall and was left stranded in the water for three days, unable to move or contact rescuers. It was only because of a passing local, who spotted his abandoned motorbike, that Nicholls was discovered.
Private villas with pools are also particularly dangerous, according to Tipton. “Most drownings at villa pools happen shortly after arrival,” he says. “You’ve suffered the long flight, arrive, dump your bags and start settling in. The children make a beeline for the pool, and out of sight of their parents can quickly run into trouble.”
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In the Alps — where most people consider the danger only in winter — Britons die each summer. Many fall from cliffs while walking or mountain biking, drown in rivers that swell from glacial meltwater, or plummet to their deaths taking part in extreme sports such as paragliding and wingsuit flying. In the winter months, during the ski season, more than 60 Britons have died in the Alps in the past four years.
Despite all the safety campaigns and government warnings, a quarter of Britons still holiday without travel insurance, with 18 to 24-year-olds the most likely to risk life and limb by travelling uninsured. The cost of medical treatment abroad can run to eye-watering sums of money. Last year, British travel insurers paid out £1 million a day. One claim ran to £16,000 for the treatment of a fractured leg from a motorcycle accident in Thailand, according to the Association of British Insurers.
For holidaymakers jetting off for their summer holidays, Tuesday’s tragedy should serve as a timely reminder to respect the sea and check the local conditions before diving in. “Tuesday’s tragedy brought back some very painful memories for me and my wife,” Greene says.
“The Mediterranean looks calm and wonderfully inviting, but there are always hidden dangers in the sea; people need to be careful, not complacent.”
Holiday disasters: how to avoid them
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Drowning
In Europe, only swim on beaches that operate a warning flag system. A green flag flying indicates that it is safe to swim. It is best to avoid swimming if a yellow flag is flying. Red indicates the sea is a no go. If someone is drowning, as hard as it may seem, do not get into the water. Instead, alert a lifeguard or call the coastguard. The European emergency number is 112.
Quad bikes and mopeds
These are extremely powerful pieces of machinery and can be lethal. Many travel insurance policies exclude driving, or riding pillion, on quad bikes. Abta advises against hiring them altogether. If you decide to, joining an organised tour is safest.
Jet skis
Cheap to rent and great fun, jet skis are a firm holiday favourite. However, as with quad bikes, many travel insurance policies exclude their use. If renting one, make sure you are aware of the laws of the sea — when approaching other vessels head on, always alter course to starboard (right) and pass port (left) to port — as in many countries there are stiff fines for maritime offences.
Carbon monoxide poisoning
It may seem an extreme measure, but travelling with a smoke and carbon monoxide detector could save your life — especially in countries with questionable fire and health and safety regulations. Two British children, Bobby Shepherd, six, and his sister Christi, seven, died of carbon monoxide poisoning on a Thomas Cook holiday in Corfu.
Balconies
Britons have a reputation for falling from balconies while drunk, or under the influence of drugs. The Foreign Office has campaigned to alert people to the dangers of partying on hotel balconies. A “balcony hopping” craze killed countless teenagers in summer party resorts.
Terrorism
Although attacks are rare, the Foreign Office released a video last week advising tourists what to do if caught up in a terrorist atrocity. Their “run, hide, tell” advice applies overseas. If hiding in a hotel, barricade the door and wedge a mattress behind the door to slow bullets. Then hide and dial 112.