Person Drowns in Pond in Grundzāle Parish on Midsummer Night; Multiple Incidents Across Latvia
During Midsummer day and night, Latvia experienced several accidents, including two drownings and a fatal fire. The State Fire and Rescue Service (VUGD) responded to 96 calls in total.
Several tragic incidents occurred in Latvia on Midsummer (Jāņi) day and night, resulting in the loss of three lives. According to the State Fire and Rescue Service (VUGD), the first tragedy happened around 3:30 PM on Midsummer day in Penkule Parish, Dobele Municipality. A person had gone swimming and disappeared; rescuers found them deceased.
Shortly before midnight, a call was received from Grundzāle Parish, Smiltene Municipality, where a person was drowning in a pond. Before VUGD arrived, the person was pulled from the water, but it was too late to save their life.
Around 2 AM on Midsummer night, VUGD responded to Rēzekne, where an apartment on the first floor of a three-story residential building was on fire (20 square meters). One person died in the blaze. Firefighters used rescue masks to save three people, one of whom was injured and handed over to medics, while two others evacuated before the service arrived.
Earlier that day, around 1:30 PM, VUGD received a call to Plēksnes Street in Rīga, where burnt food on a stove in a fifth-floor apartment caused heavy smoke. Firefighters rescued a person and a dog from the smoke-filled apartment; the person was injured and handed over to paramedics.
In total, over the past 24 hours, VUGD handled 96 calls, including 29 fires and 18 rescue operations, while 49 calls were false alarms. Additionally, firefighters extinguished a shed, a transformer, an interfloor ceiling, an uninhabited house, dry grass, a pile of branches, reeds, shrubs, garden houses, a car, a table, and multiple instances of trash fires.
