Police urge bathers to observe red flag warnings as more rescues are reported

Several beaches have been double red flagged because of the North-West wind and rough seas, the police said. They include Gnejna, Riviera, Ghajn Tuffieha, Paradise Bay and Sliema. Bathers were urged to abide by the instructions of life guards.  A man and a woman died in rough seas off Marsalforn yesterday while several rescues were made off Sliema where a canoe and a yacht capsized and two swimmers were unable to return to shore. The Emergency Response and Rescue Corps said today that its lifeguards assisted two persons at Ramla Bay in Gozo yesterday afternoon after they found themselves in difficulty. They were a 50-year-old Briton and a Maltese in his thirties. The Briton almost drowned and required urgent intervention. "Yesterday's bad weather at Ramla Bay was signalled with a double red flag. Although, this meant that the bay was closed to the public, some bathers still ventured in for a swim," the ERRC said. It urged bathers to check sea conditions  by looking at the flags on lifeguarde towers.