Two men get drowned in ponds

Two men of the same age drowned Thursday in different ponds at an interval of one hour. Liliana Puscasu, spokeswoman for the Civil Protection and Emergencies Service, has told Info-Prim Neo that a 33-year-old man was swimming alone in a pond in Sadova village of Calarasi district. When he reached the middle of the pond, the water swallowed him. Co-villagers hoeing nearby saw what happened and sought helped. A similar case happened in Dragusenii-Noi village of Hancesti district. A man aged 33 was having a picnic with his family beside a pond. He swam across the pond. When he was returning, he went under the water. The bodies of the two men have not been found yet. Frogmen of the Chisinau-based Department No. 1 are working on the scenes. Today, June 11, the Civil Protection and Emergencies Service starts a campaign to inform the people about the behavior when swimming. Mobile groups composed of employees of the Service and of the local public authorities will travel to ponds and lakes and familiarize the people with the swimming rules. A number of 33 persons have drowned in Moldova's lakes and ponds since the start of this year. Twelve of them were children.