One tourist drowns, another one rescued off Ajman beach

AJMAN – A 53-year-old tourist drowned while another visitor was rescued by the civil defence yesterday morning off the Ajman beach, an official at Ajman civil defence said.

Lt Salem Al Za’abi, director of customer service at Ajman Civil Defence, said operations staff was alerted about the two Russian tourists at around 10.30am.

“We received a notification about the accident and we immediately moved to rescue them. We were able to rescue one of them while the other had already drowned in the rough sea,” Al Za’abi said.

The other man was given emergency first aid and taken to Shaikh Khalifa Hospital for treatment, Al Za’abi said.

He was accompanied by his wife and other Russian friends, Al Za’abi added.

Pay heed to signs

Those who insist on swimming should pay heed to warnings about which stretches are dangerous — for instance, beaches with rocks or rip currents.

“What happens is that most people enjoy swimming in such a dangerous atmosphere. They show their friends how good they are at cutting the heavy waves or currents, and often their friends will also salute them when they make it. But if they fail, then they call us,” the official said.

Al Za’abi advised swimmers to be extra careful during high wind or bad weather conditions.

Ajman beach has several signs urging beach-goers not to swim in rough weather but many ignore them.

Al Za’abi said the weather was not calm enough for people to swim safely.

“The best thing is to stay out of the water and out of danger on such days,” he added.

Following the incident of a person drowning in Ajman, a forecaster said waters in both the Arabian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman will be moderately rough and people, especially non-swimmers, should not go into the waters. “The sea condition is not worrisome, but we advise those who do not know to swim to be careful on the beaches,” the forecaster said.