Dit zag ik langs komen op fb:
https://www.facebook.com/KiteSista/?fref=tsYesterday died my soul mate, a friend, loved sister, daughter and a great person with a huge heart. Tereza Jelínková was taken by the ocean and drowned to death during fatal kitesurfing accident. Another person died. My thoughts go to families and friends of those innocent young people.
Although the nature has its own rules and sometimes we are helpless facing the elements, maybe more could have been done to save those two lives.
Tarifa is a kitesurfing mekka, welcoming every year thousands of kitesurfers on all different levels. They bring the life, excitement and money to the town and to the whole region. Yet very little is done to ensure the safety of the ocean users.
The public beach designated to swimmers has loads of assigned lifeguards in the summer, yet not one trained life saviour is employed to look over the kitesurfers in the designated kitesurfing zone (Chiringuito Agua) during the summer, yet ayuntamiento is investing in hiring a team of 2 or 3 parking officers at the car park by chirinqito Agua. Not one lifeguard is patrolling the whole famous 7km of the playa de Los lances beach out of the season, yet the money have been put into installing the cameras to protect the wellbeing of the birds in the lagoon.
There is no AED machine by the kitesurfing zone (chirinqito agua). There is not one ambulance near that zone on a standby even though the traffic in the summer can hold the cars for up to 1h, so should the assistance be needed it would be probably too late. There is no nautical standby rescue service based in the kiting zone apart from private Sea Angels, who operate only in the high season in levante days. There is no vehicle access to the beach that could make rescues quicker. The only wooden path leading to the beach by Rio jara was dismantled last year because of environmental concerns. Yet ayuntamiento charges all the kite schools in Tarifa every year for 'being registered'. Where does this money go if safety is not a priority?
It's a painful shame that life's had to be lost in such a beautiful place and we will never know if this tragedy could have been avoided.
It is our responsibility to stand up for our rights and to fight for safety of our friends, families and our own. Kitesurfing industry brings millions into the economy. Safety is not much to ask for in return.
I'm sure that the people who fought for Tereza's life done the most they could and I want to thank them personally for that heroic gesture.
This is not an unreasonable request but a demand to provide the safety rights to the kitesurfers in Tarifa. Safety at least equal to that ensured for the beach users who have lifeguards, watch booths, accessible beach and buoyancy aids in Verizon's points by on the coast.
I want to boycott the Auyntamiento de Tarifa to take immediate action and provide the savers systems that should have been in place ages ago.
With the upcoming season, bringing even more kitesurfers to this beautiful place we should make sure that the responsible bodies do what they should do to protect lives.
This is my form of grieving. You can ignore it or, if you share my opinion, help me to translate it, share it so the Tarifa government takes responsibility to prevent such tragedies in the future
Before the season starts there should be:
-lifeguards dedicated to kite zones
-access paths enabling ambulances to get to the beach
-AED machine by the kite zone
-costal information for the beach users by the entrance to the beach
-stretchers available to use to carry people off the kitesurfing beach