Baïnes, sources of dangerous sea currents for swimmerscaused 14 deaths on the Atlantic coast in 2023, according to a consolidated report unveiled Wednesday by the Atlantic maritime prefecture, which calls for “caution” for the 2024 tourist season.
“We had 14 deaths in the year 2023,” declared Vice-Admiral Jean-François Quérat, maritime prefect of the Atlantic on the sidelines of a report presented in Saint-Jean-de-Luz, in the Pyrenees-Atlantiques.
“Unfortunately, we always have drama,” he added. “Over a period from May 1 to September 30, 2023, we identified 70 days of risk of baïnes phenomenon. »
“Imprudence”
Natural swimming pools of innocuous appearance, the baïnes are responsible for several drownings each year, mainly on the coast of New Aquitaine. They form between the beach and a sandbank but their strong currents can quickly carry them out to sea.
A first 2023 report unveiled in October by the maritime prefecture (Premar) reported six deaths linked to baïnes observed during interventions carried out by the Regional Operational Surveillance and Rescue Center (Cross), a scope which does not include certain deaths observed on land by other emergency services.
This consolidated figure of 14 deaths in 2023 was established by the prefecture of the southwest defense and security zone after cross-checking the data.
“This is the downside: we have still observed a lot of deaths,” notes Jean-François Quérat. “We have had accidents and people who have paid for their carelessness. »
“Prudence is you”
And the 2024 season began with a first victim on April 14 in Cap-Ferret (Gironde), when a forty-year-old died while bathing against a backdrop of maximum alert in Baïnes.
“It is expected that there will be further incidents. The 196 call number is fundamental, it allows us to have rapid execution,” argues the maritime prefect of the Atlantic.
“We hope this year, through prevention messages (…), to tell people: maritime safety is us, but caution is you,” he insisted.
