two-fitness-coaches-tragically-swept-out-sea-wife-films

Two Fitness Coaches Tragically Swept Out to Sea As Wife Films

A Russian fitness coach and his friend, a Finnish fitness pro, both died recently in a tragic accident in Spain. The pair were swept out to sea at the La Zorra cave in the Spanish resort town of Torrevieja.

Daniil Gagarin, 30, had jumped into the ocean to try to save his friend, Emma Monkkonen, 24. But Gagarin got swept out to sea along with Monkkonen, according to TMZ. And Gagarin’s wife, Darya, caught it all on video.

For a moment, the video shows, Gagarin managed to hold onto Monkkonen and get both of them onto a rock. They were clinging to it when a powerful wave crashed over them and carried them out into the Mediterranean.

Monkkonen’s body turned up several miles away from the cave. Gagarin’s body was found the following day.

Fitness Coaches Had Worked Together

Both of the drowning victims had worked together at a fitness center on Costa Blanca in the province of Alicante, the New York Post reports.

Another Russian expat who lives in Spain, Alyona Maas, said “daredevil jumps” from the dangerous rocks were “completely reckless.”

“I want to say to adrenaline lovers: please find yourself safer activities,” he told East2West.

Daredevil Water Stunts in Spain Have Killed People Before

This is not the first time that daredevil water stunts have claimed lives in Spain. In 2011, Spanish authorities had to crack down after a wave of deaths at hotels, where young vacationing tourists had begun playing a game, “balconing,” that involved jumping off balconies into swimming pools.

The game went viral thanks to YouTube and social networks, The Guardian reported. Daredevils would film themselves jumping off balconies into pools and then upload the videos online.  

The daredevil trend resulted in multiple deaths and more than a dozen serious injuries at hotels in the Balearic Islands. Hotel staff attributed the casualties to the influence of alcohol.

Some hotels began to switch to British standard balcony railings, which extend higher, to discourage tourists from jumping off the balconies. Tour operators also began warning their customers against jumping off balconies.

“We will consider taking fresh measures,” Rafael Bosch, the spokesman for the regional Balearic government, told the Guardian at the time. “The incidents are very unfortunate and this is not the kind of tourism we wish to encourage.”