According to the article, the fifth sailboat in Lake Sekstų remained afloat and was later used to help pull people stuck in the lake.
“When the rescuers arrived at the scene, they saw a group of children with life jackets – they looked like an orange ball,” said Dariusz Luma, a dispatcher at the water rescue coordination center run by the volunteer water rescue service MOPR.
“They were all wearing life jackets, and that saved their lives,” he emphasized.
D. Luma said that a sudden storm overturned four sailboats, one of which sank, while the passengers’ belongings sank to the bottom of the lake.
Asked whether the group should have been in the water despite strict weather warnings, D. Luma noted that this should be determined by the police.
“We can only guess that they thought they would make it back to shore in time,” he said. “The most important thing in this unfortunate accident is that they were wearing life jackets.”
A 16-year-old boy who suffered a forearm injury was taken to Piła hospital along with one of the instructors. The other two people were given assistance at the scene.
The incident occurred on Thursday when powerful storms raged in northern Poland, with hail the size of fists falling in some areas of the Warmia-Masuria region, destructive winds blowing, and heavy rains pouring.
The Polish meteorological service had issued the second strongest storm warning, forecasting heavy rain, large hail, and wind gusts reaching up to 100 km/h.
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