It is a drama that upsets the Franco-Belgian coast. This Saturday afternoon, three children domiciled in Belgium were swept away by sea off Gravelines, about forty kilometers from the breakdown. Despite a large rescue operation, one of the 13 -year -old children is still missing. This Sunday morning, research has not resumed: the authorities believe that it is no longer possible to find it alive.
According to the first elements communicated by the municipality of Gravelines, the three children – a siblings from Brussels, aged 10 to 13 – were on a small pneumatic boat when they were swept away by the wind. Alain Boonfaes, deputy mayor of Gravelines, said: “There were three brothers on the small boat. The dad and an uncle were fishing from the beach edge. The boat derived with the wind, children escaped adult surveillance. Was there a wave? Did they heckle? The fact remains that the boat capsized. »»
Two children were able to be saved: one managed to return to the beach on its own, the other was rescued about fifty meters from the shore by the rescuers. The third, however, has never been found.
Intense, but vain research
From the alert given, the emergency services quickly mobilized. Firefighters, help in the French sea and navy launched a major search operation, which remained in vain despite several hours of effort. The operations were suspended yesterday shortly before 8 p.m. This morning, they did not resume.
Local authorities are now talking about drowning. The 13 -year -old boy is officially considered to be disappeared at sea. An investigation is underway to precisely understand the circumstances of the tragedy.
This tragic accident is added to a series of drownings that occurred this summer, particularly deadly on French beaches.
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.
