Girl (12) swept away by waves on holiday in Puglia (Italy)

On Wednesday evening, a Belgian family narrowly escaped tragedy in Santa Cesarea Terme, a coastal town in the Italian region of Puglia.

The family was together staring at the sea from the terrace of their residence when the 12-year-old girl was suddenly swept away by a large wave.

The Italian press reports that the waves were up to 2.5 metres high, combined with a strong wind. The girl could not get back to the surface and drifted further away from the coast.

A local fisherman saw what happened and alerted the emergency services. A patrol boat from the Italian coast guard departed from Otranto, twelve kilometres away, and found the girl about five hundred metres from the coast. She was pulled out of the water and was slightly hypothermic and bruised but is otherwise okay.

(SR - Source: la Repubblica - Image illustration: ©Unsplash)