Officials reported three dangerous incidents at Helsinki's Hietaniemi beach on Tuesday, as crowds flocked to the popular beach to enjoy one of the warmest days of the year so far.
In two cases, children went missing from their parents or guardians. In the third case, an adult who did not know how to swim was in danger.
All three were found unharmed.
In two of the cases, adult beachgoers formed human chains to find children who had gone missing, both girls around the age of 10, says team leader Jukka Lundgren from the City of Helsinki's sports services.
"In one case the child was in the water, while the other was found on the beach," Lundgren tells Yle.
One of the children found in the water was unable to swim.
Video posted as a warning
Edicarla Salo, a local who posted a video of the human chain on social media, tells Yle that the children were found quickly.
"I can't swim myself, so I stayed on the beach. I wanted to film the situation to remind people how important it is to take care of children on the beach. Everyone helped, and I wanted to show that too," Salo says.
Salo praises the willingness of the people on the beach in the video to help, as well as the lifeguard's calm handling of the situation, which Salo describes as "absolutely fantastic".
According to Salo, lifeguards made an announcement telling everyone to get out of the water because children were missing. After that, all adults who could swim were asked to get back into the water to help, holding each other's hands in a line.
A busy day at Hietsu
Lundgren also commends the actions of both bystanders and lifeguards, as well as the Swimming Teaching and Lifesaving Federation, which trained those on duty at the beach.
Lundgren says that the lifeguards had a busy day at the beach, known to locals as "Hietsu".
In the third case, an adult went in too deep due to the seabed's sudden drop-off.
"An adult who couldn't swim went too deep. Suddenly their feet didn't hit the bottom, and panic set in. So bystanders had to help," he explains.
According to Lundgren, the panicked adult swallowed some water, but it did not enter their lungs. The individual's condition was monitored afterwards, but there was no need to call an ambulance, he says.
Parents must always keep an eye on their kids
Lundgren emphasises that parents or guardians must know where their children are at all times near the water, and that it is especially important to keep an eye on children who cannot swim.
"It is surprising that a child who does not know how to swim would be allowed to go into the water," he says.
A number of people of immigrant background were involved in last summer's many drownings and close calls, and Lundgren notes that one of the missing children in this case was of foreign background.
Lundgren says that while he does not want to place any blame on people of foreign background, he points out that some may not be as familiar with Finnish lakes and seas as native Finns.
"They may not have summer cottages to visit, or take part in school swimming lessons," Lundgren suggests.
He stresses that everyone, regardless of background, should learn how to swim.
"That may even save someone else's life if you can take the rescue equipment to someone who can't swim," Lundgren notes.
