Lifeguards Perform Multiple Patient Rescues and Removals

On March 29, 2016, at approximately 12:30 p.m., 62 high school swimmers between the ages of 14–17 years old and two adult coaches from a high school swim team from Riverside County, Calif., went to the beach at La Jolla Cove, a popular, internationally-recognized diving and snorkeling area in San Diego, to prepare for a group swim. The lifeguards approached the team leaders to talk about their plan and provide a safety briefing about the area and the conditions. The water temperature was 59 degrees F, the surf was 2–4 feet and the wind was 10–15 knots from the west. Lifeguards advised against the group's ocean swim. The coaches listened to the briefing and told the lifeguards that all the students were accomplished swimmers and reported that most of them had completed a similar group swim in the past year. Their plan was to swim from La Jolla Cove to La Jolla Shores beach, a distance just under a mile. (See Figure 1, below.) Figure 1: Location of swimmers rescued off the coast of La Jolla, Calif. Image courtesy John Sandmeyer Swimmers in Distress Within 10 minutes of the group entering the water, several of the swimmers raised their hands to signal they needed assistance. Lifeguards immediately responded on rescue boards and strategically-positioned personal watercraft (PWC) with attached rescue sleds from the cove and La Jolla Shores, as well as by a surfboat from nearby Mission Bay. By the time the San Diego Fire-Rescue (SDFR) lifeguards reached the group, whi...
Source: JEMS Operations - Category: Emergency Medicine Authors: Tags: Major Incidents Rescue & Vehicle Extrication Source Type: news