Careful when swimming in the ocean, The Hague warns

The municipality of The Hague is warning people who go swimming in the sea in the nice weather to do so carefully. "Prepare yourself well and make it a safe day at the beach. Cooling off and swimming in the sea is wonderful, but the sea is not without danger even in good weather. Look at the beach flags and follow the instructions of the lifeguards," reported the municipality on Twitter. It will be full summer weather this Thursday, with lots of sun and an afternoon temperature that rises to 27 degrees.

Last year, dozens of swimmers got into trouble along the Dutch coast due to strong currents and rip currents. In Julianadorp (Noord-Holland), a Polish man drowned after rescuing three children from the water. A teenager from The Hague drowned in the sea near Monster.

An rip current is a channel that is perpendicular to the beach through which water flows with great force towards the sea. Whoever ends up in it cannot swim against it. The only remedy is to let yourself be carried away and when the current weakens, swim away at an angle and return to the beach in a bow. 

On the popular beaches there are colored flags that indicate whether it is safe to swim in the sea. A yellow flag indicates danger, with a red flag swimming is prohibited.