Two brothers, 12 and 15, drown in Romania's Moldova River while trying to save their 6-year-old sister
The boys were caught in a current Sunday afternoon near Horia after a chain of rescue attempts that also pulled in their mother's partner. The 6-year-old girl and the 38-year-old man survived.
Two brothers, aged 12 and 15, drowned in the Moldova River in Neamț county on Sunday, 26 July, while attempting to rescue their 6-year-old sister who had been swept away by the current. The incident was one of several fatal drownings across Romania over the weekend, which claimed the lives of four children and one adult in total.
The chain of events in Neamț
The 112 emergency call came in around 16:35, reporting that three children were drowning in the Moldova River upstream from the Horia bridge. According to sources cited in the investigation, the 6-year-old girl was first caught by the current. A 38-year-old man, the mother's partner, jumped in after her. The current then pulled both of them, and the man called for help from the 15-year-old boy. The teenager reached out his hand and was also taken by the current. The 12-year-old boy then tried to intervene and was likewise pulled under.
The man and the girl managed to reach the shore. Before rescue crews arrived, a bystander pulled the girl from the water. She received medical care at the scene from a SMURD mobile intensive care team and was transported to hospital by a county ambulance service crew. A woman who suffered a panic attack was also assisted at the scene.
Scuba divers from the Piatra-Neamț fire department continued searching for the two missing boys. They were located, brought to shore, and resuscitation efforts began immediately. Neither child responded, and the doctor on the SMURD intensive care ambulance declared both dead. Police have opened a criminal investigation for manslaughter.
Two 13-year-olds die in a Covasna fishing lake
On Friday, two children aged around 13, a girl and a boy, were reported missing in a fishing lake in Valea Mică, Covasna county. Firefighters from ISU Covasna responded with a vehicle, a boat, a SMURD crew, and a county ambulance with a doctor. Scuba divers from ISU Brașov and ISU Bacău were mobilised, along with a SMURD helicopter.
Both children were found and pulled from the water in cardiorespiratory arrest. Despite resuscitation efforts, the doctor aboard the helicopter declared them dead.
A man drowns in Dolj retrieving fishing rods
Also on Friday, a man died in a pond in Caraula commune, Dolj county. ISU Dolj reported that he entered the water to recover several fishing rods and did not resurface after a few minutes. Firefighters from Calafat and scuba divers from Craiova searched the pond, found the man, and brought him to shore. Medical crews began resuscitation immediately, but without success.
A wider pattern and official warnings
The General Inspectorate for Emergency Situations (IGSU) reported on Monday that over 5,100 support calls were handled nationwide over the weekend. SMURD crews accounted for 80% of interventions, providing medical assistance to 4,200 people. Firefighters extinguished 287 fires and responded to 606 community protection incidents.
The drownings come one week after five other people lost their lives in the Mureș and Argeș rivers. IGSU issued a renewed warning that seemingly calm waters can become fatal within moments and urged the public to swim only in designated, supervised areas, never leave children unattended near water, avoid entering water after consuming alcohol, and call 112 immediately if someone is in danger without endangering oneself.
Scăldați-vă doar în locurile special amenajate și supravegheate.
