Young 18-year-old man pushes rescuer off boat: ‘More and more aggression’

An 18-year-old young man from the Brussels region tried to climb into the beach rescue service’s boat when his ball ended up in it. This involved some pulling and pushing and the rescuer was pushed out of the boat. He was then able to hoist himself back on board.

The young swimmer swam away with some friends and then fled. The incident is considered ‘violence against emergency services’ and police immediately started looking for the attacker. A little later he was arrested in the center of Knokke-Heist.

The Intermunicipal Coastal Rescue Service West Flanders has noted that aggression towards beach lifeguards has increased in recent years. Ann Beun, IKWV: “We cannot deny that the mentality of some people has unfortunately changed in a negative way. We are more often confronted with mainly verbally aggressive tourists. Physical attacks on the rescuers are very exceptional. And we really hope that this is the case. These boys and girls are there every day giving the best of themselves for the safety of other people. We do notice that people’s behavior is evolving as it becomes busier on the beach.”