A 26-year-old resident of Barberà del Vallès, Fouad A.B., drowned on Friday night on Ca la Ribellet beach, in l’Ametlla de Mar, under strange circumstances. Around half past ten at night, several people alerted 112 to ensure that a vehicle had traveled to the beach, even accessing the sandy area, where it ran aground and was no longer able to maneuver. The only occupant of the vehicle, a young man who appeared to be under the influence of alcohol or some substance, got out of the car. Subsequently, and despite people’s warnings, the young man entered the water.
Witnesses verified that the young man did not show signs of life or came out of the water and alerted the emergency services. The waves themselves and the currents dragged the body of the young man floating to the shore.
The first to arrive were the toilets of an ambulance from the Servei d’Emergències Mèdiques, who for a long time carried out recovery maneuvers, without success. The Mossos d’Esquadra located the young man’s ID inside the car and took steps to notify his relatives.
At first the mossos of the investigation unit of the Tortosa police station were activated, but finally the case has passed into the hands of the judicial police of the Civil Guard of Tarragona, since the body of the victim had appeared floating in the sea .
Although this drowning is surrounded by some very particular circumstances that the Civil Guard must specify, this has been a terrible year in terms of drowning in Catalonia. This 2023 has started with the worst records of drowning that already go for 20 deaths, counting that of l’Ametlla. The monthly report drawn up by the Royal Spanish Federation of Rescue and Lifeguards highlights that last June Catalonia was the autonomous community with the highest number of drowned (ten) followed by Andalusia (seven) and Valencia and Murcia (with six drowned each community).
