18 people drown on the Romanian seaside during the summer season, with 72 rescued

A total of 18 people drowned in the sea on the Romanian coast and 72 were rescued this summer season, the Dobrogea Inspectorate for Emergency Situations (ISU) of Constanta County reported on Friday.

"The sea was not without dangers either. Rescuers intervened in 90 cases of submersion. Due to the rapid response, 72 people were saved, but, unfortunately, 18 lives could not be saved," the press release sent by the ISU reads, agerpres reports.

According to the cited source, 725 people were assisted in the first aid points on the beaches, and the ambulances that served the first aid points provided support for 1,645 people.

Between June and August, firefighters managed a total of over 9,000 interventions on the coast.

The summer season brought, again this year, the mobilization of over 400 firefighters from 29 counties and the municipality of Bucharest, seconded to the coast to support the ISU Constanta crews.

"The measures adopted by the General Inspectorate for Emergency Situations aimed at consolidating operational interventions and intensifying preventive actions. In this regard, fire trucks, extrication ambulances, tracked vehicles and boats were mobilized, and 23 temporary work points were operationalized in Constanta county (10 for firefighting, 7 for first aid and 6 for aquatic rescue)", the press release also informs.

Regarding fires, the crews intervened, during the mentioned period, at 910 such events, an increase of 18% compared to the same period last year. Many of these, over 70%, represented fires of dry vegetation (659), which affected almost 4,800 hectares.