In a statement FEPONS states that “high temperatures have brought several rescues and drowning deaths across the country”.

According to data from the FEPONS Drowning Observatory, “29 people have died in the aquatic environment in Portugal since the beginning of the year”, which corresponds, according to the same source, “to the worst record of the last four years”.

“At a time when there is still no assistance for bathers on Portuguese beaches, as we are not yet in the bathing season, the influx of bathers to beaches brings a high risk of drowning”, reads the statement.

FEPONS argues that “although legislation does not require it, as assistance to bathers is a competence of the municipalities, they must be more sensitive to the area”.

The federation suggests the creation of “safety devices on the beaches”, remembering that Portugal is a country of tourism.

“There is no worse publicity than someone dying or having to be saved on an unsupervised beach, when territorial marketing sells these spaces as safe places”, they conclude.