Three drown off the coast of Nice in separate incidents

Three people drowned off the coast of Nice between Sunday (June 30) and the early hours of Tuesday morning (July 2), as authorities evacuated several beaches due to strong swells and high waves. 

A man was found fully clothed at around 01:00 on Tuesday morning on Cocoon beach, the third victim in some 48 hours, ActuNice reports. He was pronounced dead despite efforts by emergency services to resuscitate him. 

On Sunday, the body of a man in his 30s was discovered near the port. Another man drowned on Sunday afternoon off Ponchettes beach along the Promenade des Anglais. The 40-year-old got into difficulty some 20 metres from the shore and could not be resuscitated, France Bleu reports.

Police evacuated several beaches on Sunday as winds of up to 70 km/hour and strong swells prompted lifeguards to raise red flags and caution bathers not to swim. 

Another man was saved by friends on Sunday after getting into difficulty on Opera beach. 

Over 300 deaths during summer 2023

France’s public health authorities recorded 361 deaths by drowning between June 1 and September 30, 2023. They were among over 1,300 people who got into “drowning incidents” off the French coast. 

Drowning is the leading cause of accidental death among under 25s and more than half of drowning deaths last summer took place in five coastal regions: Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, Occitanie, Nouvelle-Aquitaine, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes and Brittany, according to Public Health France.