Two women found frozen to death after going for a midnight swim in North Sea
Two women were found frozen to death, face-down in the waters off the coast of Scotland's Aberdeen in the early morning of Friday.
The two friends, 36-year-old mother of two Karolina Pisarska and Luiza Koniuszy, 22, had decided to go for a midnight swim on Thursday but unfortunately succumbed to the freezing cold of the North Sea.
According to The Sun, it was a taxi driver, whom the women had asked to wait while they went for the swim, who spotted the women struggling and raised the alarm. The pair were dragged out 50 meters (approximately 154 feet) into the sea, and after cops, paramedics, firefighters, coastguards and a search-and-rescue helicopter went searching for them in the Aberdeen sea, they were found around 12.45 am on Friday.
Born in Poland, both women had been living in Aberdeen for a few years, and had reportedly gone swimming in the North Sea before. Saying that the tragedy was beyond comprehension, a friend revealed that the duo was out swimming at the beach a few weeks ago and nothing happened.
"They didn’t see it as dangerous, just a bit of a laugh," she said, adding how the incident does not feel real to anyone.
"Everyone knows the two of them enjoyed a night out. They loved going out and having fun," she said, adding how they hadn't expected anything to go wrong. Meanwhile, a friend was quoted by The Sun as saying, "It just feels so weird and impossible to take in. Just a few hours ago Luiza was posting stories on Instagram. How can she not be here anymore?"
It is understood that the women met each other while studying in a local college, and their social media pages show them at the beach on multiple occasions. Unfortunately for them, though, the tide was high during the time they went in, and the waves were particularly rough when they entered the water, which was just 10C (50 F).
According to the Coast Guard, “The water temperature is quite unforgiving at this time of year when the air temperature starts to rise. The cold water takes you by surprise. It’s a warm air temperature, they jump in and suddenly it’s a lot colder. There were quite substantial waves and the tide was all the way in. It was reasonably rough.”
Meanwhile, Chief Inspector Martin Mackay, who ruled out any foul play, warned, “Our seas can be extremely unforgiving, conditions can change rapidly. I can’t stress enough the dangers of entering the water at any time of the day or night when you are not suitably prepared.”