Fatality in Spain

[GTC]

Sad news. A kiter died in Illa de Arousa (Galicia, Spain) on September 25th.

Here's a link to a local newspaper https://www.farodevigo.es/portada-arous ... 67616.html
pics https://www.farodevigo.es/multimedia/fo ... -illa.html

Quick translation of the article: seems that he crashed into the water and got unconscious. After 40 minutes of CPR he was confirmed dead. Wind was between 20 and 30 knots.

My condolences to his family and friends

[Toby]

Very sad to hear this.
My condolences.

It can happen so quick that when you crash you get knocked out...important that we look after each other, because time can be really short when this happens.
Remember the crash from Lewis Crather at KOTA?
Immediate help saved his life.

RIP

[Beardytello]

RIP

Really makes you think about kiting solo.

[apollo4000]

RIP

...or jumping...especially if no spring chicken like me

[RickI]

Rest in peace and strength to his pregnant wife, family and friends. My condolences go out to all impacted by this accident

It seems a well experienced kiter had a bad water impact from an 8 m jump or lofting, it is unclear which, during a strong wind gust, and lost consciousness face down in the water.

More at: https://www.lavozdegalicia.es/noticia/a ... 418417.htm (machine translated below)

"A kitesurfer dies when he falls against the water from eight meters high in A Illa
The 41-year-old athlete was rescued by his teammates, who tried to revive him unsuccessfully

ÓSCAR VÍFER
BEA COSTA
TO ILLA / LA VOZ 09/25/2018 00:14 H
He was 41 years old and had been practicing kitesurfing for eight years. His companions say that he was an experienced athlete, but this time he could not control the wind with his kite and the fall on the sea proved fatal . Carlos Castaño Ferreirós lost his life yesterday at noon in A Illa de Arousa while flying over the O Bao area . He had recently married and was expecting his first child. Castaño was a councilor in Catoira and worked as ATS at the Hospital de Barbanza.Waiting for what determines the investigation, according to the story offered by his companions, everything points to the man rushed with great violence to the water to not be able to dominate the strong wind blowing at that time in the estuary. From the Kiteboarding Galicia club, to which Carlos Castaño was linked, they report that the fall occurred from about eight meters , and from that height, and without proper control, the impact on the water surface is comparable to a fall on asphalt .

Castaño had opted to use boots attached to the board, which, according to the experts, could have caused the effect of the impact to be greater. From the club discarded that the tragic accident is the result of a problem with the team (table, bar, harness or comet) and blame the bad luck.As soon as Carlos Castaño fell, another kitesurfer came to his aid, and found him unconscious and face down. Once on the shore, he and another of his colleagues attended him practicing cardiopulmonary resuscitation maneuvers, waiting for emergency services to arrive. After several minutes of anguish, the doctors took charge of the situation. The doctors were for almost an hour trying to revive him, but the efforts were in vain. After noon, they certified his death in the sand itself. Eyewitnesses weigh the hypothesis that the athlete had suffered an internal leak when hitting the water, although we will have to wait for the result of the autopsy. In addition to the medical services and the helicopter of the 061, the local police of A Illa and the firemen of O Salnés, who came to attend another tragic event just two kilometers away, moved there.

The work of aid to Carlos Castaño was complicated by the problems of access that this area of ​​O Bao presents, where the ambulances could not reach because they exceeded the height of the pass enabled under the bridge. That forced the doctors to go on foot carrying, with the help of the firemen, the medical material to where the body was. The accident caused great commotion among the kitesurfing community Arousana, as well as in A Illa and in Catoira, where the latter was a neighbor of Carlos Castaño.A feeling that hooks when flying and sailing at the same timeNot long ago, the drivers crossing the bridge of A Illa were still looking to see what were those colorful comets that showed through the sky of O Bao. Today the practice of kitesurfing is more than consolidated in this beach hit by winds from the north. The Kiteboarding Galicia club, which created a school in the Ría de Arousa , has a point of reference there and celebrated, two years ago, the first official test endorsed by the Galician Vela Federation in Vilagarcía. Galicia is not Tarifa, but with between 15 and 18 wind days per month it becomes the ideal setting for fans. The profile of the kitesurfer is that of a male between 25 and 40 years old who does not settle for exercising. Those who practice it highlight the adrenaline rush and the sensation of freedom that gliding on the waves provides."

[Peert]

Very sorry to read. Tragic loss with a child on the way. Hope his wife and family and friends will find comfort with each other.

[Osprey1]

Sad news. Sending good thoughts to his family

[matth]

So sad....RIP

[JakeFarley]

May his family and friends find some comfort knowing that the worldwide kiting community shares their sorrow.

[abel]

Very sad indeed. May he rest in peace.

I have a friend in Galicia who was his friend and told me almost in real time about the accident.
The events were more complicated than described in the article above.
He said that it took quite a while until he was taken back to shore, and at first instance the guys didn't know exactly how to behave.
So my friend decided to increase in those spots the awareness about how to react and give first aid in such cases.
His personal conclusion is that fading out, face down, with boots attached to the board was the main cause for the casualty.
I assume that even a certified floating vest that normally would turn you around, face up, can't help with boots attached to the board.