The tragedy of three sisters drowning on Brighton Beach, a popular resort, has stayed in the headlines through May 2026 with speculation about the causes, and questions about prevention. Brighton attracts tourists all year, especially in summer. With hot weather, more are going for a dip. Foreign students take English language courses in Brighton.
Brighton has many attractions.
1 The Indian style former royal residence with its Chinese interior.
2 The nearby Sussex university. Alumni return to see their old uni, attracted by free talks by famous people, followed by paid for lunches for those in your year at uni, put on by the authorities for fund-raising.
3 The dinky little shops in the lanes.
4 And restaurants serving seaside food, both basic and gourmet. Fish and chips and oysters.
What's not to like?
1 The beach is not sandy but pebbly.
2 Less known is the fact that it shelves steeply., underwater.
3 If you suddenly find yourself caught out of your depth, in up to your chest instead of your ankles or knees, there is a current called a rip tide.
The 2026 event was that three sisters who were on the beach late at night were found drowned next day, wearing their clothes and shoes.
Later, it was revealed that their mother had drowned in a lake in Birmingham, England. Suicide.
This raises at least three questions for the public, especially holidaymakers, teachers, and parents. As well as for the local authorities, and governments.
1 How to ensure everybody can swim.
2 How to teach yourself, your family, and others to cope with riptides.
3 How to prevent people entering dangerous water.
I would add a fourth question:
4 How to safeguard the minds of children, and families, of suicides.
Ensure children of suicides have meaningful, creative careers.
Put up signs for help services, police, coastguard, Samaritans.
In the USA, at a bridge which was notorious for suicides, they installed catch nets but also signs saying, need to talk to somebody, any time, day or night, no money needed, call this free helpline.
They installed an emergency phone.
1 Swimming Lessons To Ensure Everybody Can Swim
You can teach babies to float. You can demand or ensure that schools teach swimming. You can teach yourself by watching videos, and learning in a swimming pool with water no deeper than chest height, from a trained, qualified instructor.
Make ability to swim part of the entry qualification for schools. Teach everybody at school how to swim. Add it as part of the school-leavers citizenship course.
Then teach how to swim with a rip-current until it lessens.
2 Learning To Cope With Riptides / Rip Currents
You can learn about coping with riptides from Wikihow, and Youtube videos by lifeguards.
3 Install Or Improve Warning Signs
Multi-lingual boards. Coloured flags, red for danger.
English and Spanish warning sign.
4 Install Barriers.
Barriers across beaches at night would both prevent holidaymakers walking into the sea in the dark, when they cannot see nor be seen.
It would also help discourage unauthorised landings from immigrants and intruders.
Lock beaches at night, like parks, because you can't patrol them.
5 Have Volunteer Lifeguards.
6 Install Have Beach Surveillance Cameras
Useful Websites
https://www.wikihow.com/Swim
https://www.wikihow.com/Survive-a-Rip-Tide
https://weather.metoffice.gov.uk/warnings-and-advice/seasonal-advice/travel/out-and-about/understanding-rip-currents
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rip_current
USA Information Service
https://www.noaa.gov/jetstream/ocean/rip-currents/rip-current-safety
USA rip current prediction service
https://www.weather.gov/safety/ripcurrent-forecasts
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