Two young tourists die in separate Lake Cauma drownings

Two deaths in three days have forced Lake Cauma's safety arrangements into focus. The popular turquoise lake near Flims, in Graubünden, became the scene of separate fatal incidents involving young foreign visitors at the end of August.

On Thursday, August 27, a 17-year-old British boy swimming during a family holiday went under in the lake. Several people saw him in difficulty and used paddle boards to bring him back to shore. Medical professionals who happened to be nearby began resuscitation immediately. An emergency team transported the teenager to Chur Cantonal Hospital, where he died later that evening.

Three days later, a 27-year-old German man entered the water to help a colleague who was struggling while swimming towards a small island. The rescuer also got into difficulty. Other swimmers, including the person he had tried to assist, pulled him from the lake and began resuscitation. He died at the scene.

Graubünden cantonal police and the Graubünden Public Prosecutor's Office are investigating the circumstances of the incidents. Rega, local rescue teams, the Flims fire brigade and Care Team Grischun also responded to the second emergency.

Both fatal incidents happened after the public bathing area had closed. The Flims-Laax tourist board lists the summer opening hours as 8:30 am to 5:00 pm each day. Outside that period, supervision in the water is not guaranteed.

The first incident occurred on a Thursday evening, while the second happened at about 7:00 pm on Sunday, according to the cantonal police statement cited by Keystone-SDA. The timing has placed the lake's operating model at the centre of the public discussion, particularly during peak summer tourism when visitors may continue swimming after staff have left.

Flims mayor Christoph Schmidt said the municipality was deeply shocked by the deaths. He also rejected immediate calls to prohibit swimming outside official opening hours. “Both incidents occurred in the evening, after normal opening hours, when there is no guaranteed supervision in the water,” Schmidt told Keystone-ATS.

The bathing area has information about its safety plan and bathing rules. The municipality reviews the lake's safety and rescue arrangements each year with the operator and, where appropriate, the relevant authorities. Investigators have not identified a public safety breach in the material cited by the authorities.

The mayor says Lake Cauma has no unusual currents or temperature hazards. He points instead to risks that can be harder for visitors to judge: the distance to land, cold water and the physical demands of open-water swimming.

Lake Cauma's clear water and island setting attract visitors from across Switzerland and abroad. Those features can make the lake appear approachable, particularly to people accustomed to supervised pools. A short-looking crossing can require sustained effort, while a swimmer who becomes tired may struggle to turn around or reach the shore safely.

The second death illustrates the danger of improvised rescue attempts. The German tourist entered the lake to help a colleague and then became the person in need of rescue. Other swimmers managed to bring him out, but emergency treatment could not save his life. The colleague survived and took part in the rescue.

Swiss water safety organisations repeatedly advise swimmers to assess their ability, avoid swimming alone and use buoyancy aids where appropriate. Rescue attempts should not create a second casualty. People who see someone in difficulty should raise the alarm, alert lifeguards or emergency services and use safe assistance from shore whenever possible.

Switzerland records roughly 45 to 50 drowning deaths each year. The national figure, cited from the Swiss Lifesaving Society, places the Lake Cauma fatalities within a wider pattern of accidents in the country's lakes and rivers.

Swimming is a central part of Swiss summer life. Residents and visitors use public beaches, riverbanks and mountain lakes for recreation, often in places without permanent lifeguard coverage. Conditions can change quickly as swimmers move away from shore, and tourists may not know local rules, water temperatures or the limits of the available rescue infrastructure.

The previous fatal incident at Lake Cauma occurred more than a decade ago, in 2016, according to Mayor Schmidt. He said the municipality does not currently regard the lake as particularly dangerous and that a ban on swimming outside opening hours is not being considered.

The immediate decisions will rest with the municipality, the lake operator and the relevant authorities as they review the safety plan. The two deaths are likely to keep attention on signs, opening-hour communication, emergency access and how visitors receive warnings after supervised bathing ends. Police and prosecutors continue to establish what happened in both cases.