Spain’s Barcelona has launched an accessible service at a beach to help people with disabilities to enjoy the waves.
The Nova Icaria beach in Barcelona has wooden walkways that extend to the water and amphibious chairs that make it easier for people with disabilities to enter the ocean.
As well as purpose-designed changing rooms with lifting cranes, there are nine specially trained lifeguards on hand to help with entering, swimming in and exiting the ocean, as well as rinsing and getting changed.
The service has already helped thousands of beachgoers with disabilities, including seven-year-old Max Segui, who has cerebral palsy and uses a wheelchair.
“I can swim and play. And they also have things for people to swim, they gave me a life jacket, a floatie with a tube. People who can’t walk always come here,” Segui told Reuters.
“It helps us a lot because otherwise I wouldn’t be able to go down to swim on my own,” Nati Gines, a 58-year-old woman who has a full-leg prosthetic, said. “This way they make it very easy for us … they are lovely, they are very attentive.”
