Lifeguards to have more emergency equipment

Joan Collins
LIFEGUARDS on Balearic beaches are to be given extra equipment to help them do their job of assisting bathers in cases of emergency.
The equipment will consist of 77 defibrilators, 21 water bikes, 122 wind gauges, 15 semi rigid boats, 176 rescue boards (like surf boards) and 14 medical couches which will be delivered to them within the next few weeks. The Balearic Minister for the Interior, Jose Maria Rodriguez, yesterday morning signed the agreements for this new equipment with the Mayors and representatives of the areas involved. The extra equipment will mean an investment of a million euros which will be made through the public company Gestion de Emergencias (GEIBSA), the part of the Ministry for the Interior which is coordinating the 2006-2010 Beach Security Plan. Majorca will get 40 defibrilators, 13 water bikes, 71 wind gauges, 14 medical couches and 98 rescue boards. Minorca will get 22 defibrilators, 21 wind gauges, four water bikes, four medical couches and 32 rescue boards. Ibiza will get 11 defibrilators, 27 wind gauges, 39 rescue boards, one water bike and one medical couch, and finally, Formentera will get two defibrilators, three wind gauges, three water bikes and three medical couches. As for the semi rigid boats, a total of eight will be given to Majorca, another six to Ibiza and the rest to Minorca; while Formentera will not receive any as they have already got two different ones. These are of the “Valiant” class, 5.3 and 5.5 metres long, with 80 and 100 horsepower engines and protective shields over its propellers, a v shaped hull to deal with rough sea conditions and VHF radio and GPS (satellite navigation system). According to the Balearic Ministry of the Interior, this new equipment is another step towards total compliance with Beach Security Decree 2/2005, under which all the beaches on the islands had to be catalogued according to their risk, existing facilities and assistance centres last year.