Palanga rescuers warn after swimmers ignore red flag
Monday 17th August 2026 on 13:00 in
Lithuania
Palanga rescuers are warning holidaymakers about the dangers of swimming after people entered the rough Baltic Sea despite a red flag, LRT.lt reports. The warning came a day after a 17-year-old boy from a family visiting from Poland drowned near the Palanga pier.
On the following day, several people again went into the sea, even though conditions were more dangerous and swimming was prohibited.
“Just one day after the tragic accident, the Baltic Sea is even rougher today, with much stronger waves than yesterday. Despite the red flag, people are still risking their lives, ignoring the rescuers’ warnings and trying to argue about the obvious danger,” Palanga chief rescuer Kajus Pirožnikas said in a video shared on social media.
The video shows Pirožnikas asking several holidaymakers to leave the water. He warned them that the sea was dangerous and that the red flag meant swimming was strictly prohibited.
“You are soaking wet. If you want to argue, we can do it with the help of police officers. But do you want to pay a fine? A child drowned yesterday, so why are you behaving like this? Why are you being so irresponsible?” the rescuer told them.
The holidaymakers said they had only been wading in the sea. Pirožnikas replied that the video showed they had been fully swimming.
“Do you think I am an idiot or what? Dry yourselves, go to the shore and let us settle this amicably. Protect your lives,” he said.
He also reminded viewers that a red flag indicates a real danger to life and urged them to protect themselves and their relatives so that a moment of carelessness would not become a tragedy.
On Saturday, emergency services launched a major search near the Palanga pier after receiving a report that someone had disappeared in the sea. Divers took part in the operation, and holidaymakers at the resort also joined the search, wading into the water hand in hand.
After 9 p.m., rescuers found the body of the missing teenager. Initial reports referred to a drowning man, while later information suggested that a teenager might have disappeared in the water.