TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – A French national drowned at Tamsui's Shalun Beach on Monday at 4 p.m.

The 37-year-old male drowned after being swept away by waves, with his girlfriend, surnamed Chung (鍾), notifying authorities of his disappearance. The police and the Coast Guard immediately responded to the emergency, per PTS.

After a 40-minute search, he was found with no vital signs approximately 500 meters from the beach. Three Coast Guard officers pulled him into a lifeboat and brought him ashore, later rushing him to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead soon afterwards.

Shalun Beach has undercurrents and whirlpools just beneath the surface that are difficult to detect, which led to four drownings in 2012. In 2013, New Taipei prohibited all water recreation activities at the beach.

However, over the past decade, people still play in the water and swim during the summer or on weekends. There have also been multiple calls to reopen the beach for water activities.

DPP New Taipei City Councilor Cheng Yu-en (鄭宇恩) said in the wake of the most recent drowning, more must be done. "We cannot just ban people from such activities without implementing better management." 

Cheng urged municipal authorities to enact improved safety measures, with the first water safety coordination meeting of the year scheduled for July 4. In addition to reviewing the Tourism Bureau's overall feasibility risk assessment report, Cheng hopes more resources will be deployed to protect the public from danger.