A Belgian holidaymaker has drowned after getting into difficulty while swimming off the Brittany coast, French media have reported.
The 51-year-old man was reportedly swimming at the Plage des Escaliers in Névez, around 40km south-east of Quimper, when lifeguards pulled him from the water just after 4pm yesterday, 24 July.
According to Le Telegramme newspaper, the man was “unconscious and in cardiorespiratory arrest” when he was rescued. Four lifeguards attempted to resuscitate him, but he was declared dead shortly after being pulled out of the water.
The man was reportedly swimming in an unsupervised area, which is off-limits to bathers.
Igor Chavagnat, head of the beach surveillance section, told Le Telegramme: "It's in an out-of-zone swimming area, on the outskirts of the Escalier beach, just next door. It's a well-marked no-swimming zone, where there's a strong current. These are dangerous areas when the tide comes in."
