|
Odesa, Ukraine's largest port and naval base, was repeatedly
attacked with missiles and drones and the sea was littered with
hundreds of sea mines following the invasion in February last
year.
For the safety of residents and after incidents of mines
exploding on beaches, the coast was closed.
The decision to open the beaches was made jointly by the city's
civilian and military administrations, Odesa Governor Oleh Kiper
said on Telegram messaging app.
He said the beaches would be open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Oleksandr, a lifeguard and a former diver who gave only his
first name, said that an anti-mine net was placed in between two
piers to prevent swimmers encountering shallow-water mines.
"The net will stop them. And they (mines) will also be visible
from the shore under such weather conditions. Emergency workers
will be notified, they will come to handle it," he said.
The opening of the beaches has been a welcome respite from the
war for people swimming and sunbathing.
"I have been dreaming of going to the beach and inhaling salty
air. We have been missing it a lot. But safety is a top
priority," said Svitlana, a resident of the Odesa region.
(Reporting by Iryna Nazarchuk; Writing by Pavel Polityuk;
Editing by Frances Kerry)
[© 2023 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2022 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.
|
|
