Rescuers brought two children back to shore after wind carried them out to sea near Peyia

Two minors who were carried out to sea on an inflatable boat by strong winds near Arapis Beach in Peyia were brought back to shore by beach lifeguards. The incident occurred on Saturday at around 11:30.

The children were in the water on an inflatable boat when gusts of wind began pulling them away from the shore. They eventually ended up outside the area marked by buoys and a considerable distance from land.

Lifeguards Rafail Kyriakou and Antony Torres spotted the children in time and went out to them. Both were brought back to land, and no one was injured.

The incident occurred on a day when the Meteorological Service had issued an orange warning: thunderstorms, squally winds and sharp changes in weather, unusual for the end of August, affected Cyprus.

In such weather, inflatable boats and mattresses are dangerous even close to shore: within minutes, the wind can carry them dozens of metres out to sea, especially when children are in them.