An Irish father has died while swimming off the Costa del Sol during Monday’s ‘unprecedented’ blackout.
The tourist, believed to be aged in his 50s and named only as Darren, was holidaying in Torremolinos when the tragic incident unfolded in front of his son.
The family is said to have taken a vacation following the death of his wife just six weeks earlier. The boy’s grandmother was also at the beach.
Due to the total collapse of Spain’s communications network on Monday, witnesses were unable to call emergency services and had to try and save Darren’s life until they were finally alerted.
But they said by the time the authorities arrived it was ‘too late’.
Dutch tourist Menno van Oorschot recalled how he pulled Darren out of the sea.
It came after several British tourists who witnessed the incident sought updates on social media today.
In a Facebook post Menno wrote: ‘The sea was very rough, and there was a very strong current. A rescue worker was nowhere to be seen because it’s not yet the high season.
‘As we sipped our drink on the beach, I noticed at first glance that someone was sinking in the sea about 80 meters from us.
‘Quickly and without hesitation, I threw my things to Lindsay (his wife) and reached the individual in the sea.
‘Along with many others, we brought the man onto the beach and began resuscitation.
‘Unfortunately, all our efforts weren’t successful. And the man sadly died.’
He said it suddenly dawned on him how important the internet and phones were to daily life.
He added: ‘They couldn’t call emergency services, and when the police finally arrived, the ambulance was alerted by the phone. All of this took a long time, too long…
‘What touches me most is that the man we pulled from the water with his son and grandmother was on vacation to process the loss of the boy’s mother, who had sadly died six weeks before the holiday… that hits me hard.
‘The feeling of helplessness still lingers with me, even though I know we all did everything we could to save this man’s life.’
Ireland’s Department of Foreign Affairs told the Spanish Eye: ‘The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade is aware of the case and is providing consular assistance.
‘As with all consular cases, the Department does not comment on the details of individual cases.’
