A child of ten years old disappeared at sea in Gravelines, in the north of France on Saturday afternoon. The research to find it did nothing until evening and was interrupted shortly before 8 p.m., said the maritime prefecture.
“An operation was launched around 4 p.m. following the report of three children in difficulty on Gravelines beach,” said a spokesperson for the Maritime Prefecture of the Manche and the North Sea, confirming information from the local radio radio6. Research, which notably mobilized a helicopter of the French Navy and nautical means, was therefore interrupted around 7:45 pm, while a child remains missing.
“Two children were able to return to the beach on their own,” said the same source. According to firefighters, these two children, aged 10 and 13, were transported to the Dunkirk hospital center, slightly injured. According to our information, the three children concerned are Belgian, contrary to what had been announced beforehand. They would come from Brussels.
193 deaths since June 1
The summer season 2025 is marked by a sad observation in France: drowning is increasing sharply. Between June 1 and July 23, 702 drownings were identified on the territory, 193 of which resulted in death, according to the figures published by Public Health France in its ballot of August 1. At the same period in 2024, 133 deaths had been recorded. The number of deaths has therefore increased by 45 %.
This trend is in a context of marked heat. The public health organization stresses that high temperatures have probably pushed more people to go to swimming areas to cool off, thus multiplying risky situations.
The heat wave from June 19 to July 6 was particularly critical. During these 18 days placed under vigilance, 315 drownings were reported, including 86 deadly. It is more than double compared to the same period in 2024 (130 drownings, including 36 deaths). This increase represents a 139 % increase the number of drownings followed by death between the two years on this period alone.
