Three people have drowned over the weekend in Albania.
Two men believed to be in their 70s. died on the beach of Spille in the north of the country while another lost their live in Velipoja. The individual in Spille is believed to be a 59-year-old man from Kosovo.
The police said that the two men in Spille died as a result of strong waves. It’s believed they were tourists visiting from North Macedonia.
The General Secretary of the Albanian Federation of “Beach and Water Rescue Observer”, Gent Lasku, told News 24 that in the area where the two citizens drowned there were no beach supervisors or lifeguards. One woman remains missing and it’s believed she entered the water at the same time as them.
Last week, two swimmers were rescued in Spille as they encountered waves and strong currents. On the same day, the body of a man was found in Gjiri Lalzi. It’s believed he disappeared two days previously and drowned in strong currents.
In July two people died in the water on Shengjin beach.
Throughout most of the country, there are no lifeguards and a minimal number of supervisors. This has been an issue for several years. In 2014, the National Coastal Agency trained 41 sports students as certified lifeguards but they were never deployed. As per a Council of Minister’s decision, a lifeguard tower must be placed to cover every five private beaches, yet this has not been fully implemented and they remain unstaffed.
