Drowning at La Mata is Torrevieja’s fourth this summer

74-year-old Lithuanian man died not long after lifeguards finished work

A man died, apparently by drowning, at La Mata beach in Torrevieja on Tuesday evening.

Reports indicate that he was 74 years old and a Lithuanian citizen.

It happened not long after 8pm, which is the time that the lifeguards’ shift on the beach ends.

Witnesses told local Spanish press that the man had been in the water when he appeared to become unwell.

Other bathers managed to get him to shore, where they started to apply CPR, with the assistance of Guardia Civil and Local Police officers.

Despite their efforts, by the time that an ambulance arrived, all that the emergency medical team could do was certify his death.

This was the fourth drowning to be recorded at beaches in Torrevieja so far this summer.

Over the past few days, easterly winds have been whipping up sizeable waves along the coast of the Vega Baja area in the south of Alicante province.

La Mata beach is completely open and exposed to the elements, and bathers reported that there were not only big waves but also a quite strong undertow, or rip current.

A yellow flag warning bathers to exercise caution had been flying all day there but the beach was busy nonetheless.

As is often the case when there are adverse conditions in the sea, people still go into the water at times when the lifeguards are not on duty, increasing the risk of a tragedy should they find themselves unable to stay afloat or pulled out by the current.

Image: Ayuntamiento de Torrevieja