A 12-year-old girl remains intubated in critical condition at Makarios Hospital, more than a week after her 35-year-old mother, from Romania, drowned off the CTO beach in Pyla on the afternoon of August 15. Police said the girl’s condition is critical. Her 14-year-old sister was discharged from hospital in recent days.
The incident happened shortly after 6pm, in front of the family’s father and third child, a boy, who were on the shore. The mother and her two daughters had gone into the sea to swim when other bathers saw them struggling in the waves.
Bathers pulled the mother and both girls from the water, and ambulances rushed to the scene. Despite rescuers’ efforts, the mother could not be revived, and the two girls were taken to Makarios Hospital.
The incident occurred just 20 minutes after the area’s lifeguard service had ended for the day, prompting a wave of criticism and reviving concerns over inadequate lifeguard tower staffing in Larnaca and other areas.
Adding to the questions, the incident appears to have occurred near breakwaters, in an area where the seabed drops sharply. According to philenews sources within the police, witnesses reported seeing the mother and her two children swimming close to the breakwaters.
On June 18, two 20-year-old women from Somalia died in the sea off Oroklini, near the CTO beach. According to multiple witness accounts, the two women drowned among the breakwaters in an area with a lifeguard tower that went unstaffed this year due to a lack of interest in the position.
Following the deaths of the two women, Larnaca bodies including the Larnaca Tourism Development Company (ETAP) called for measures to strengthen beach safety and prevent similar tragedies. No measures have yet been decided for areas with breakwaters in Larnaca.
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