Sunday’s drowning accident occurred when the twelve-year-old boy accidentally got too far into the water. The man, who is a relative of the boy, then threw himself out to save him. The bodies were later found not far from where they both disappeared.
Popular beach
The beach at Piteälven below Selholmen’s campsite in Älvsbyn is often used by the Älvsby residents for sunbathing and swimming. But the currents in the river at the idyllic beach change with the flow of water in the river. After the accident, the municipality has also issued a warning for life-threatening currents, on its website.
Älvsbyn has for a long time received many refugees. The family concerned has a foreign background and the boy had only been in Sweden for a short time.
New warning signs
– There have previously been incidents at this location. We have had to go out and pick up people who swam to one of the islands in the river but then couldn’t get back, says Jim Lundström, director of the rescue service Piteå-Älvsbyn.
There has already been a notice with a warning for strong undercurrents, but according to local residents that SVT spoke to, it is too unclear.
After the incident, the municipality held a crisis meeting, in the clip you can hear the emergency manager on how to prevent similar accidents in the future.