Eleven people have drowned this summer season on the Albanian coast, which suffers from a shortage of lifeguards, reports the news site "Exit".

On most beaches in Albania there are no lifeguards or there is a minimal number of people watching the tourists, "Exit" points out.

This has been a problem for several years.

In 2014, the National Coastal Agency trained 41 sports students as certified lifeguards, but they were never deployed.

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In the summer of 2021, at least four people drowned while swimming along the Albanian coast.

In previous years, multiple drownings were recorded throughout the season.

According to a decision of the Council of Ministers, every legal entity that has a concession on a beach area must provide a lifeguard and an observation tower, but this is not implemented, "Exit" points out.

Robert Nechai, vice-president of the Albanian Federation of Lifeguards, said many of the deaths could have been avoided if there had been lifeguards on the relevant beaches.

According to him, the danger from the sea is constant and many are not aware of the risks.

Leneda Camberai, a licensed lifeguard instructor, told Euronews that 19 lifeguards were trained in 2022, but all of them were beach owners, not people who would work exclusively as lifeguards.

According to her, the main problem is the pay.

In recent days, there have been protests in front of the Ministry of Tourism because of the deaths along the coast and the lack of responsibility on the part of the Ministry.

Among the dead are four children, "Exit" notes.

One of the demands of the protests was to withdraw the beach concession from legal entities that do not provide lifeguards on the beach, BTA reported.

Albania