A BRITISH holidaymaker has become the latest victim to drown off the coast of Catalunya after reportedly jumping from a tourist ferry in an attempt to swim to a beach bar.
The 45-year-old was travelling with his parents and brother aboard a ferry from Cambrils to Salou on Friday when he plunged into the sea just minutes before the vessel was due to dock.
His 42-year-old brother also jumped overboard from a ferry window but managed to reach the shore safely.
The Brit, who is yet to be named, was later found dead in the water at 9.52pm.
According to local reports, the two brothers had appeared intoxicated and asked to buy alcohol on board the ferry, although the captain reportedly refused.
The Policia Local have launched a probe to clarify the circumstances of the tragedy.
The tragedy was followed within hours by two further drownings on Catalunya’s coastline.
A 78-year-old French man died on Saturday afternoon after being pulled unconscious from the sea at a beach in Lloret de Mar, Girona.
Emergency services were called at around 3.15pm but attempts to revive him were unsuccessful.
Just hours later, another French national, aged 69, drowned while swimming at Rovellada beach in Colera, also in Girona.
Emergency services were alerted shortly after 6pm with medical crews and a helicopter dispatched to the scene.
The three deaths have added to an already grim summer on the Catalan coast, with 26 people now having drowned on the region’s beaches since the official bathing season began on June 15.
The British holidaymaker’s death is also the 14th recorded drowning on the coast of Tarragona this summer.
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