Lifeguards admitted the reality of the situation is stressful for them.
Ready to handle any emergency that is bound to come their way this week, Mazatlán’s 34 member lifeguard squad has stationed salvavidas from Stone Island to Punta Cerritos. Given the municipality’s prediction that Mazatlán will be host to 500,000 tourists and most will at sometime find their way to the beaches, each lifeguard on an average will be responsible for 14,700 beachgoers.
Speaking to reporters, lifeguards admitted the reality of the situation is stressful for them, not only for the numbers but also because tourists do not always cooperate with lifeguards´ directions.
Lifeguards work constantly in the sun, without even a bottle of water in their hands, much less a portable bathroom nearby, they said. Often they have to ask to use bathrooms belonging to palapa restaurants on the beach or make a quick dash across the road to an hotel.
With luck, they told media, someone will offer them water, no ice, just water because being all day in the sun they become dehydrated.
Commander of the lifeguard squad, Sergio Cervantes, said that following a meeting yesterday with the municipal secretary of public security, lifeguards who usually work 7am to 7pm will now be on duty 8am to 8pm until April 27.
The Commander also warned that drunk beachgoers who do not obey lifeguards´ directions or who assault lifeguards will be handed over to municipal police to be dealt with according to the law.
(from Noroeste)
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