2023-09-08 17:47:00
The Belgian coast is regarding to be taken by storm during this sunny weekend. The police will be on alert in order to best regulate the large flows of travelers. On the mobility side, SNCB is planning three additional trains to the coast, two to Ostend and one to Blankenberge.
Please note: the motorway of the sea (E40) will be closed this weekend!
But it is especially on the roads that the situation looks dangerous. Indeed, the E40 between Sint-Denijs-Westrem and Aalter will be closed in both directions from Saturday evening, at 8 p.m., until Sunday morning (9:30 a.m.). That night, the Roads and Traffic Agency will demolish the Kloosterstraat bridge over the E40 in Drongen. Long distance traffic is diverted.
The sea, even seemingly calm, can be unforgiving
On the side of the rescuers, a call for caution is launched. They remind you that it is strictly forbidden to swim in unsupervised areas to avoid the tragedies known in the past. The sea, even seemingly calm, can be unforgiving. Thus, last month, a young 20-year-old from Brussels died following finding himself in difficulty in Ostend.
580 children lost on the beaches this summer
Parents are also asked to keep a constant eye on their children. During the two summer months, 580 children were lost on the beaches (225 in July and 355 in August). This is the lowest figure since 2011 due to poor weather conditions. For example, 1,150 children became lost in 2022, 849 in 2021 and 1,079 in 2020.
Blankenberge: a 15-year-old teenager stabbed at the station, the police neutralize the suspect by shooting him
The police will be present in large numbers to avoid any overflow. “On weekends when it is hot, we receive a lot of people, which leads to very diverse interventions, ranging from public drunkenness, theft to fights,” explains Timmy Van Assche, spokesperson for the Ostend police. “Our summer plan begins mid-June and ends mid-September. On average the police intervene every 8 minutes. Last summer, the Ostend police received no less than 10,950 reports in July and August, which resulted in 7,958 interventions. This was regarding a thousand more than in the summer of 2021.”
On other beaches, as the summer season is over, some lifeguard stations are no longer open. “Until September 17, only one post is open in each coastal municipality, but the 83 posts are not all occupied as during the summer,” said An Beun, head of the West Flanders coastal rescue intermunicipal association. (IKWV).
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