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The small fishing village of Scheveningen, near The Hague, mourns five surfers who crashed in the North Sea. Johan Remkes, the mayor of The Hague, expressed his condolences to the relatives. “The way so many young lives have been broken and so many families and groups of friends have met is incredibly cruel,” he said at a press conference. The victims were between 22 and 38 years old.
Television footage showed how people gather on the beach and look at emergency services trying to find the last missing person. Flowers were placed in front of The Shore surf club. According to media reports, some of the victims are said to have been surf instructors and lifeguards. “They knew the sea as the back of the hand,” says the mayor.
In the late afternoon of Monday, surfers jumped into the North Sea with their bodyboards. A strong wind blew, the waves were high and covered with a thick layer of foam when people needed it. Some managed to return alone to the beach. The Royal Dutch Rescue Company pulled seven people out of the water, two of whom died on the beach despite attempts to resuscitate them. A third surfer was hospitalized.
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The rescue work was interrupted around 11 p.m. At this point, three people were still missing. Two surfers were recovered dead from the North Sea on Tuesday morning. The body of a third victim has been seen, according to emergency services. Due to the current, the rescue was difficult.
What brought well-trained surfers in need is still unclear. Had the wind strength suddenly increased? Perhaps, water sports enthusiasts suspect, surfers could no longer orient themselves due to the thick layer of foam in the waves. Or they were thrown by a violent current towards the wall of the pier in the port, which was secured with large rocks. “We don’t know yet,” Coast Guard spokesman Edwin Granneman said on the radio, “that needs to be investigated.”
Mayor Remkes also announced that he would clarify the case: “I understand that you have a hundred questions. We also have these questions,” he said. The investigations did not recover the victims, the politician continued. Family and friends can count on the support of the city.
