Tarnów rescue volunteer urges safe swimming at designated water sites

Ireneusz Skoczeń, a volunteer lifeguard with the Water Rescue Service in Tarnów, warned swimmers to use only monitored and clearly marked bathing areas as temperatures rise and visitor numbers increase. He advised people to avoid “wild” rivers such as the Dunajec and to stay within the boundaries of artificial pools on former gravel pits, citing examples in Czchów, Radłów and Szerzyny. Skoczeń emphasized that at the Radłów site the depth reaches 15–25 metres just 7–8 metres from shore, making it unsafe to venture beyond the marked zone. The volunteer stressed that staying in the designated 50‑metre swimming zone, supervised by lifeguards, is essential to prevent drownings, which he described as “people drowning in silence and loneliness.”