Two British siblings, aged 11 and 13, die after drowning at Salou beach

Two British siblings – a girl aged 13 and boy aged 11 – drowned on Tuesday evening at Salou beach in southern Catalonia.

Emergency services were alerted at 8.45 pm and dispatched seven ground units along with a team of psychologists to the scene.

Local police, Mossos d’Esquadra, and firefighters also responded with five units.

The childrens’ father, who had gone into the water to save them, was rescued alive.

Minute's silence

The town of Salou paid tribute to the sister and brother with a minute's silence held at midday outside the council headquarters.

The head of the local police, José Luis Gargallo, explained that officers encountered three people struggling to get out of the water and managed to pull them from the sea.

Despite attempts to resuscitate the 11-year old boy and and 13-year-old girl, they could not be saved.

Gargallo said the beach had a yellow flag throughout the day and that sea conditions were rough.

"This is a beach that offers ideal swimming conditions 99% of the year, but yesterday this was not the case," he stated. He urged swimmers to exercise caution.

Tragic day for drownings

Tuesday proved to be a tragic day for drownings in Catalonia.

A 54-year-old German national drowned the same day at Cambrils beach, also in southern Catalonia.

Emergency services received the alert at 6.30 pm, while the beach was under a yellow flag warning.

Four ground units were deployed, but resuscitation efforts were unsuccessful.

These three deaths bring the total number of fatalities on Catalan beaches since the start of the summer season to 22, four more than during the same period last year.

Most drownings have victims of over 65 years old, with previous medical conditions that normally swim by themselves.

Authorities had registered 9 victims before the summer campaign started on June 15.

Swimming pools

Since the campaign started, three people have drowned in swimming pools, and 15 more have been injured, 13 of them were minors, and most of them aged 6 years old or lower.

Most drownings have occurred in private pools, but also in local public sites and in tourist accommodations. In most cases, there were adults on site but without direct supervision.

In inland waters, three young men have lost their lives while swimming in areas not fit to swim, such as small lakes, rivers, and reservoirs.

Most of these areas, aside of the natural risks, do not have phone signal to call the 112 emergency hotline.