Boy saves girl from drowning but ignored trying to save father
A man drowned last week at Bédanne Lake in Tourville-la-Rivière. Hisham, 12, was able to rescue his daughter, but the teenager remains traumatized: his calls to save the father were completely ignored by the adults present.
Dropped off at the leisure facility with two friends, Hisham spots an eleven-year-old girl in great difficulty. Faced with the silence of other swimmers beside him, the boy decides to act. An excellent swimmer, he lets go of his buoy and manages to bring the young victim safely back to the sandy beach.
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Once out of the water, the young girl tells him that her father, who cannot swim, disappeared with her. The teenager immediately alerts security officers and witnesses to go to the exact location of the rescue. Unfortunately, no one takes his warnings seriously. An adult even physically pushes him away by placing a hand on his head.
The firefighters only intervene half an hour later to extract the body of the 38-year-old man, who fell into a crevasse precisely where the teenager had indicated. The Smur doctors can only confirm death. "I was sad because if they had listened to me, we would have saved him," regrets Hisham, haunted by the idea that he could have rescued the victim.
The mother of the middle schooler, Sofia, is outraged by this fatal lack of consideration solely due to her son’s age. As reported by the media actu.fr, she also points out a security flaw on this crowded site. Swimming was officially prohibited that day due to lack of supervision, but the site remained open to the public without real restrictions on water access.
The facility’s management admits the high danger of this former Seine quarry. The lake’s topography proves particularly deceptive with bothersome vegetation, impaired visibility, and sudden drops reaching six meters deep. Closed after this tragic accident, the site reopened on Saturday, May 30 with a swimming area this time supervised by firefighters.
