Sea swimming safety to be reviewed after tragic Helen's Bay death of Rosa Parkes
Safety regulations at several sea swimming spots are to be checked after the tragic death of Rosa Parkes last week.
Rosa, a Carryduff wife, mother and grandmother who was in her 60s, passed away after getting into difficulty while swimming off the coast of Helen’s Bay in Co Down last Saturday. Although emergency services sprang to her aid, she was pronounced dead in hospital.
Now Ards and North Down Council, which oversees multiple popular sea swimming spots including the beach at Helen’s Bay, is to see how it can improve safety in the area.
Sea swimming has become an increasingly common pastime in North Down, which is often known as Northern Ireland’s ‘gold coast’ due to its sandy beaches and naturally beautiful shore from Groomsport through Bangor and Helen’s Bay.
Day-trippers are known to come from all around Northern Ireland to enjoy the scenic district, often taking a dip in the sea to reconnect with nature.
The safety move was jointly suggested by DUP and Green Party politicians at a council meeting last night, with Green councillor Lauren Kendall stating it was important “to do anything we can to support safety for those who visit our beaches and harbours” so that future tragedies can be avoided.
The DUP’s alderman Alan Graham said the entire council was “so sorry to hear what happened last Saturday, when somebody went out for a swim and never made it home again”.
He added: “My wife used to go out on snowy days and go into the water for some strange reason, I don’t know why – but I know that these folks, they’re very experienced and they love what they do; without becoming a nanny state, we have to try to promote safety as far as is possible.
“I want to put on record that we do sympathise with the family that has been bereaved.”
Mayor Gillian McCollum, herself a sea swimming enthusiast, said she was “devastated to learn of this lady’s passing, and the significant danger to two other swimmers” who pulled from the water with Rosa Parkes.
She stated: “These were visitors to our borough.
“We do it because we love it; the remarks from the family were very brave, they acknowledged that this lady died doing what she loved most.”