Over the 2021 summer season, lifeguard and beach rescue services in the Balearics revived forty people who they had saved from drowning - 23 in Mallorca, 15 in Minorca and two in Ibiza.
The government's annual beaches report indicates that these rescues were up by over 100% compared to both 2019 and 2020; there were 19 in 2019 and 15 in 2020. The ministry for public function highlights the rapid response of the rescue services and efforts to prevent bathers from going into cardio-respiratory arrest. In 2021, there were 472 lifeguards, whereas there were 387 in 2020.
However, the number of deaths at beaches was 24, five more than in 2019 and 14 more than 2020. In Mallorca, 19 people died, in Minorca one, and in Ibiza four.
Outside rescue service hours, there were seven deaths, three more than in 2019 and four more than in 2020. At swimming pools, three people died.
The total number of rescues was 1,145. Of these, 589 were because of sea currents, 151 for strong waves and 103 for distance from the coast. The number of incidents due to jellyfish stings was 32,169. The number of calls to 112 for jellyfish sightings rose from 1,981 in 2020 to 2,463.
Lifeguards intervened on 981 occasions in dealing with crowding on beaches.