San Sebastián is counting the rising cost of ocean rescues. Now it plans to charge anyone found to be negligent or reckless
t was still dark in the northern Spanish city of San Sebastián when the two men – one Spanish, the other Brazilian – were struck with the idea of going for a swim. They raced into the frigid, lapping waters of the city’s Playa de La Concha, capping off a night of hard partying.
A rescue team on the beach in San Sebastián. They have had to deal with what a councillor calls ‘clear acts of irresponsibility’.“I would love to never charge a single euro, pound or dollar,” says Martín Ibabe, the city councillor responsible for citizen safety. “The objective here is to prevent these types of incidents from happening. The confrontational nature of this law is aimed at making people think twice.
What has spurred him is a recent rise in cases of reckless swimming – from drunken partygoers taking a dip in the dark to eager swimmers who bluster past signs stating the beach is closed. The legislation has proven complicated to draft, says Ibabe. Some critics have voiced concerns that it could make people more hesitant to call for help, while others argue that it could unjustly penalise those who have an accident.
“People who are well-equipped, well-prepared and who fall and get hurt – that’s not reckless in my mind,” he says. “That’s just something that happens, and we don’t bill for those. I’m looking for the people who, quite frankly, should have known better.”
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