Photo: Canton Geneva
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – A 26-year-old Lithuanian man working temporarily in Geneva died Sunday 12 August in hospital, hours after he was pulled from the Rhone at Pointe de la Jonction.
He was swimming with a group of friends when he found himself in difficulty in the water. A police river patrol was nearby and came to the rescue when his friends called for help, but a half hour effort to save him was not successful and he was taken to the HUG university hospitals, where he died during the evening.
Swimming is allowed in the Rhone, below the Sous-Terre bridge and the place where the Arve and Rhone rivers join, downstream, but the current is strong and swimmers are often caught by surprise, according to the canton’s web page about the area. Swimming upstream from the barrage is not allowed.
Canton Geneva, on its web page about improvements made to the area in 2011, notes that the water can be very cold, even in summer, where the rivers join.
If someone is in trouble in the water, call emergency number 117.
