Inflatable toys cause spike in beach rescues
Lifeguards are urging beachgoers to leave their inflatable toys at home after a spike in rescues this summer.
Inflatable doughnuts, pineapples and poop emojis might be fun amid the waves, but the lightweight toys can be dangerous, Foxton volunteer surf lifeguard Callum Mckenzie said.
Two teenagers on a giant inflatable flamingo were rescued by lifeguards after floating out to sea at Foxton Beach last week, one in a number of rescues involving inflatables this summer.
Mckenzie said they were shocked when they realised how far from shore they had got. ‘‘We got to them and asked if they were OK. Initially they said they were fine, but then they turned around and realised how far out they’d been blown.’’
Mckenzie has noticed an increase in people taking pool toys to Foxton Beach in recent summers, but it had also become a national issue. ‘‘Typically it’s kids who are on the inflatables while their parents are back on the beach.
‘‘The parents think the kids are fine because they’re in shallow water, but then the wind changes direction and suddenly they’re 100m off the shore.’’
Surf Life Saving New Zealand’s chief executive Paul Dalton said the lightweight toys aren’t designed for the ocean as a wind change can propel them out of reach and quickly carry them out to sea.
‘‘Our surf lifeguards conduct hundreds of rescues every year, and we’re acutely aware of what can go wrong when people ignore safety advice.’’
Wayne Anthony De Bruyn, 52, and Jared Evan Anderson, 35, drowned after the inflatable raft they were using to float down taki River tipped at the mouth of the river and washed them into the sea in 2017.
Dalton said it was typical of the risks of using inflatables at beaches.
‘‘You can easily fall and once you’re separated you’ve lost all your floatation. You very quickly get stranded way, way out.’’
Dalton urged beach-goers to use their common sense and leave their inflatables at home where they belonged.
‘‘All we want is for Kiwis to have fun and enjoy the beach safely this summer. The best thing to do is leave them at home because once they’re at the beach it’s really tempting.’’