Ahead of what is expected to be a busy summer season, a Spanish city has put forward a new rule to curb drunk swimming after nights out. Spain has recently introduced a number of laws that look to reduce drunken tourism, and one city is now looking to fine reckless swimmers who need saving.
San Sebastián is tabling the legislation, which they are hoping to get into place later this year, amid a rise in callouts to rescue partygoers, say the Mirror. There have been other recent rules put in place in Spain too, like a megaphone ban in Barcelona, and fines for drunken behaviour in the Balearic Islands.
This comes on the back of a £5,000 effort to rescue two drunken men who wanted a quick dip after a night out off the Playa de La Concha. The Spanish and Brazilian men found themselves being pulled deeper and deeper into the chilly waters and began to struggle, the Guardian reports.
A police officer onshore saw them struggling and triggered a rescue plan, which included 20 first responders rushing to the scene. The total cost of the response - which happily saw the men brought safely back to shore - was more than £5,000.
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Now officials in the Spanish city want to stop footing the bill in the case of such emergencies if they come about through negligence or recklessness. “I would love to never charge a single euro, pound or dollar,” Martín Ibabe, the city councillor responsible for citizen safety, said, as reported by the Guardian.
“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.”
Mr Ibabe said that the city will be "blazing a new path" if the legislation gets passed, and that it'd be the first of its kind in Spain.
The bill has been pushed forward by a recent rise in cases of reckless swimming, including lots of drunk partygoers hitting the beach after dark. Others have been pulled into the sea after dozing off on a stone jetty and having scrambled on a secluded beach with notoriously ferocious waves.
San Sebastián officials want to cut down on the number of call-outs, to save the city money and to stop rescuers having to put their lives at risk so frequently. 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.
Mr Ibabe hopes to have the legislation in place by the end of the summer.
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