One Elementary Student Dies at Beach Before Opening... Current Law Cannot Prevent Swimming

At around 2:42 PM on the 17th, three elementary school students fell into the sea at Gwangam Beach in Changwon, Gyeongnam, resulting in one fatality.

According to the fire department and coast guard on the 19th, the children had come to this location with their parents and others to play in the water when the accident occurred.

Family members and vacationers immediately rescued two of the children, but were unable to find 9-year-old boy A, prompting a 119 emergency call.

Boy A was found by responding firefighters and coast guard personnel at around 3:34 PM that day and was rushed to the hospital, but ultimately passed away.

The beach is scheduled to officially open on July 1, but it has been crowded with vacationers seeking to enjoy the beach early due to the early heat wave.

At the time of the accident, two safety management personnel recruited by Changwon City through public notice were on duty at the beach, but it is reported that they did not detect the accident.

Before the official opening, there is no obligation for the local government to deploy lifeguards, and the 2019 revision of the Act on the Use and Management of Beaches allows people to enter the water year-round, making it impossible to forcibly prevent swimmers.

Immediately after the accident, Changwon City added banners prohibiting entry into the water at the beach and installed stakes connected by ropes along the coast to prevent people from approaching the water.

The patrol interval of the water rescue personnel, which was previously one hour, has been reduced to 30 minutes, and announcements prohibiting entry into the water are being made through the beach’s public address system.

On the 22nd, five more rescue personnel will be recruited, bringing the total to seven.

The Beach Council will be held to consider moving up the official opening date or whether to open temporarily.

A city official stated, “We will expedite the deployment by completing procedures such as employment contracts and insurance registration for the lifeguards as quickly as possible,” adding, “We plan to thoroughly review and reestablish safety measures for water play accidents in coordination with the coast guard and fire department.”

The coast guard plans to investigate the exact circumstances of the accident by interviewing witnesses and will launch an investigation related to safety management.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.