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Seven people were arrested and placed in police custody as part of the investigation into the drowning of five children, which occurred on May 11 at Sablettes beach, in Algiers. This was indicated on Monday in a press release from the Algiers prosecutor’s office.
Just after the tragedy, the public prosecutor at the Hussein Dey court ordered the immediate opening of an in-depth investigation.
This investigation aims to shed light on the conditions for organizing two excursions, in particular with regard to compliance with regulations and the protection of children. It also aims to identify the responsibilities of all stakeholders involved in this incident.
Among those arrested as part of this investigation are officials from the Youth Center in the commune of Aïn Boucif as well as officials from the El-Mordjane association in Médéa.
As a reminder, the five children lost their lives during two separate excursions, organized at the Sablettes park and beach. This tragedy aroused strong emotion within Algerian society. Many messages of support and condolences were sent to the families of the victims on social networks. Calls for better supervision of school trips and increased awareness of the dangers of swimming at sea have also been launched by Civil Protection.
Braving the crashing waves, the many citizens present on the scene were the first to help the children in difficulty. Alerted by the toll-free number at 6:45 p.m., emergency services then took over. Civil Protection, arriving on site as quickly as possible, took charge of the rescued children, providing them with first aid and resuscitating them. The victims were then evacuated to Mustapha-Bacha hospital for further medical examinations.
According to Commander Nassim Bernaoui, deputy director of information and statistics at Civil Protection, a seventh body was recovered around 9 p.m. by a team of divers. “Four of the six rescued children were unable to survive upon their arrival at Mustapha-Bacha hospital, while the fifth died at the scene of the tragedy,” he declared, the day before yesterday, at Young Independent.
Swimming on unsupervised beaches, in bodies of water and out of season remains one of the causes of these human losses. The same manager wanted to raise awareness among parents and adult chaperones about the importance of supervising children. He also recalled the life-threatening dangers of swimming on unsupervised beaches.
A ministerial commission went to Médéa the next day. This coincided with the start of the fifth grade exams at the Mohammadi-Mohamed school, in the commune of Aïn Boucif. Doctors and psychologists were mobilized to support students who lost their classmates. The commission then went to the homes of the victims’ families to present the condolences of the Minister of National Education, Abdelhakim Belabed.