Sagunto holds rescue drill on Puerto de Sagunto beach to boost safety
Sagunto City Council carried out a rescue drill on Tuesday with two simulated victims on Puerto de Sagunto beach, near the Pantalán jetty, to test coordination between lifeguards, local police and health services.
Sagunto City Council held a rescue drill on Tuesday on the beach of Puerto de Sagunto (Sagunto's coastal district), next to the Pantalán jetty, as part of the periodic exercises the council runs along the municipality's coastline during the summer months. The aim of the exercise was to cut reaction times, strengthen coordination between the services involved, and test how well the emergency protocols work in practice.
The drill involved a team from the Lifeguard and Rescue Service (Socorrismo y Salvamento), led by its coordinator, together with a boat skipper and a drone pilot. They were joined by officers from the Beach Local Police unit and staff from the emergency medical service, who worked together throughout the simulation.
The scenario involved rescuing two people from the water, one conscious and one unconscious. After being spotted from the control tower, the lifeguard team, the police unit and the drone surveillance crew coordinated their response to carry out the rescue. Both simulated victims were brought to shore on the lifeguards' jet ski, where local police had already set up a safety zone so medical staff could treat them without interference.
The exercise was attended by Sagunto's mayor, Darío Moreno, and the councillor for Local Police, María José Carrera, who checked on site how the different teams performed. Moreno stressed that beach safety is a municipal priority and noted that the coastline receives thousands of people every summer, both residents and visitors, who need to know a professional team is ready to respond quickly to any emergency.
Carrera, for her part, said drills like this allow the council to test the entire rescue chain on the ground: from the initial response by the Lifeguard and Rescue Service through to coordination with local police and the arrival of medical assistance. She added that these exercises also help identify ways to improve communication between the different services and fine-tune the response for future emergencies.
This kind of drill is part of the council's coastal prevention strategy, which is especially relevant at the height of the summer season, when the number of bathers on Puerto de Sagunto's beaches reaches its highest levels of the year. According to aytosagunto.es.