Fondettes (France) (AFP)

The Secretary of State for Children and Families, Adrien Taquet, recalled Tuesday the responsibility of adults, during a visit to Fondettes (Indre-et-Loire), after three accidental drownings of children in less than 24 hours in the department.

"There is a lack of surveillance, a few moments unfortunately suffice," said Mr. Taquet, from the Departmental Fire and Rescue Service (Sdis) of Indre-et-Loire, in Fondettes.

"Adults must assume their adult responsibilities and have this vigilance at all times, always having their eyes on the children, when children bathe. Whether in a private setting, or as part of a an exit ", insisted the Secretary of State.

"We, the public authorities, must carry out swimming education actions," he concluded, referring to the aquatic ease program launched by the Minister of Sports, Roxana Maracineanu.

The former athlete, the first French world swimming champion in 1998, asked local communities at the end of June to "reopen the swimming pools" after the Covid-19 crisis, in order to fight against drownings during the summer.

At the origin of a thousand deaths per year, drownings are the leading cause of accidental death of those under 25, according to the latest Public Health France investigation conducted in the summer of 2018, the ministry recalled at the time. sports.

In Fondettes, in the suburb of Tours, Adrien Taquet was speaking during a thank you visit to the firefighters and gendarmes who participated in the search for a six-year-old child, who disappeared Monday in the lake of Château-la-Vallière, still in Indre-et-Loire.

- Black Monday -

According to the public prosecutor of Tours Grégoire Dulin, the child, who was placed in a children's social assistance home of the departmental council of Indre-et-Loire, had taken part in an outing on Monday after -midday at Lac du Val Joyeux, when swimming was temporarily prohibited.

An investigation was opened for manslaughter, said the magistrate, adding that "according to the first elements of the investigation, the death is compatible with drowning".

According to the prosecution, the town hall of Château-la-Vallière had issued a decree on Friday prohibiting access to the water on Monday July 27, for lack of a swimming supervisor that day.

From the same source, the children of the group "were not the only ones" to bathe despite the ban.

Around 6 p.m., the child had escaped the vigilance of the educator, only for six children aged 6 to 14 years, explained the prosecutor.

The body of the child was found in the lake late Tuesday morning, by divers from the river brigade of the national gendarmerie. An autopsy is scheduled for Wednesday.

Numerous resources with ground teams, dog lovers, divers and a helicopter had been deployed.

This tragedy occurred a few hours after another, known only on Tuesday, which occurred in private homes only about thirty kilometers from the lake.

Two brothers, aged 3 and 6, drowned Monday afternoon in a private swimming pool in Saint-Antoine-du-Rocher (Indre-et-Loire), revealed the magistrate on the sidelines of Mr. Taquet's visit .

According to Mr. Dulin, the two children, living in Paris, escaped the supervision of their grandparents for a few seconds.

They then climbed onto buoys before falling into the water, while the recently renovated swimming pool was being filled.

The adults present did not hear anything due to the noise of the filling pump.

© 2020 AFP