MOJACAR City Council and EBONE, the contracted beach rescue service in the municipality, have been practicing live rescue drills.
Osaïa Reding, the World kite surfing champion, was ‘rescued’ as part of a series of simulated exercises to demonstrate just how real rescues are conducted.
The drills will be taking place across beaches in the municipality with the intention of informing onlookers and allowing rescuers to practice in a real-time environment.
Evaluations and protocol observations were also made of lifeguards to improve all stages of a rescue operation.
In just 10 minutes, after being seen by the rescuer from a watch tower, the ‘victim’ was rescued from the water, resuscitated and transported to the ambulance.
From the moment of the sighting, two rescue workers went immediately to save Reding from the water, and five minutes later, on land, a coordinated effort began with cardio-pulmonary resuscitation manoeuvres.
Both the response times and the speed and effectiveness of the lifeguards of Mojacar were deemed satisfactory by observing professional bodies attending the first event.
The participation of Reding was a tribute by lifeguards for her recent success as the junior worldwide kitesurfing champion.