€1,500 fine warning after Murcia bathers ignore red flag and need mass rescue

More than 20 people had to be rescued around La Manga and Cabo de Palos in a single afternoon, several after wading past red flags marking dangerous currents. When lifeguards told some to leave, they refused, a decision that can carry a fine of up to €1,500 under Cartagena’s beach rules. 

Rescues ranged from 25 metres to 300 metres offshore

Cartagena’s Municipal Civil Protection Service pulled 17 people from the water at Galúa and Entremares beaches in La Manga on Sunday August 16, after they swam past red flags marking zones with dangerous currents. The council said both beaches were flying an overall yellow flag, but lifeguards had roped off specific sections with red flags because of the currents.

The Entremares rescues happened between 25 and 60 metres from the shore and involved people aged between nine and 56. At Galúa, two 23-year-olds were also brought in from around 40 metres out.

Paddle boarders were swept far beyond their depth at two other beaches 

Two more call-outs on the same afternoon involved paddle boarders who had drifted roughly 300 metres from the coast and couldn’t get back on their own. At Cala del Barco, three people aged 23 and 25 needed a rescue boat sent out from Entremares. A near-identical situation played out at Cala Reona, where a 30-year-old and a 31-year-old were brought in the same way.

Between the swimmers and the paddle boarders, Protección Civil intervened to help 22 people over the course of the afternoon, one of its busiest single shifts of the summer so far.

What Cartagena’s flag colours mean for swimmers 

Cartagena’s beach ordinance sets out three flag colours. Green means swimming is allowed, while yellow means swimming is allowed with caution, under-12s aren’t allowed in the water without an adult present, and bans inflatables, armbands and floats beyond 50 metres from shore. A red flag bans swimming outright.

Why swimming in a red flag zone counts as a serious offence

Under the same ordinance, anyone who ignores a red flag and refuses to leave the water when a lifeguard tells them to can be reported to the police. Bathing in a red flag zone is classed as a “grave”, or serious, offence, punishable by a fine of up to €1,500, more than double the €750 ceiling for lesser breaches such as pitching a tent on the sand or lighting a fire on the beach.

Local Police were called in after bathers refused to leave the water

Lifeguards said some swimmers on Sunday would not get out of the water when asked, forcing them to call the Policía Local to help clear the marked zones. Álvaro Valdés, Cartagena’s councillor for coastal affairs, said a moment of recklessness can end in tragedy, and stressed that lifeguards’ own safety could not be put at risk to protect bathers who ignore the warnings.

Protección Civil runs its lifeguard and rescue service on Cartagena’s beaches throughout the bathing season, which lasts until September 15, with the flag system being its main tool for keeping swimmers away from stretches of water where currents make it too dangerous. La Manga and Cabo de Palos, both popular with expat residents and holidaymakers in the Murcia region, see some of the heaviest lifeguard call-outs on the Costa Cálida during peak summer weekends.