Current swept a 9-year-old child on a mattress into a mined water area in Odesa region: what rescuers say

In the resort village of Karolino-Buhaz in Odesa region, a current swept a 9-year-old child on an inflatable mattress into a mined water area. This was reported on July 28 by a number of local Telegram channels.

Journalists of UNN looked into the situation.  

What happened in Karolino-Buhaz

According to social media users, the child was relaxing on the beach with relatives — an uncle and aunt. They allowed the child to swim in the sea on an inflatable mattress.  But waves and wind quickly carried the child to the mined water area.

The uncle rushed to the rescue, but could not help and also found himself in danger. Then one of the vacationers swam to help the people on his paddleboard — a special board for swimming that can be paddled. He managed to secure the mattress to the paddleboard, which stopped being carried away by the current.  But due to strong wind, all three cannot return to shore and have been in the open sea for over 3 hours.

Meanwhile, people on the coast began calling the police.  Law enforcement officers arrived, but according to people, they could not help: they are not allowed to go out to sea in the dangerous zone. Therefore, the police officers stayed to wait for permission from the Ukrainian military.

As of 18:00, local Telegram channels posted a video showing men inflating a rubber boat to swim to the two adults and the child and rescue them. Rescuers and border guards also arrived at the scene to join the police. 

Meanwhile, witnesses of the incident say that the boy with his uncle and the man who came to their aid were carried even further out to sea and are now not even visible from the shore. 

Social media users have already identified the victims. They say the family came on vacation and stayed at the hotel "Alion". 

"There is not a single safe open beach": what the State Emergency Service of Odesa region says 

For a comment, UNN contacted the State Emergency Service in Odesa region. The agency's spokesperson Maryna Averina noted that as of 17:00, no report had been received by rescuers about a boy and his uncle needing help.

"But even if such a report had come in, we would not have gone there. All our help would have been reduced to standing on the shore and waving. We are prohibited from going out to sea because the beaches may be mined, and mines may be floating in the water. This is dangerous not only for vacationers but also for us," Averina emphasized.

The spokesperson for Odesa rescuers stressed that in Karolino-Buhaz, Zatoka, and indeed in the entire Odesa region in July 2026, there is not a single safe open beach. The exception is the city of Odesa. 

Why the Black Sea continues to claim the lives of Ukrainians 

Note that today's incident with the boy is far from the first water-related incident involving children. 

In the second half of June 2026, 10-year-old Sofia Potomkina was carried out to the open sea on an inflatable ring in Odesa region. The child came on vacation to the village of Sychavka with her great-grandmother. When the girl was splashing in the water near the shore, a strong wind arose and carried the child with the inflatable ring further out to sea. 

Rescuers immediately arrived at the scene of the incident. The child was searched for two weeks straight. But a miracle did not happen, and on July 7, local residents found her body near the shore in the water in the area of the city of Pivdenne.  

The child's body was sent for a forensic medical examination, and a criminal investigation was opened into the girl's death. 

Note that in Sychavka there is not a single beach where people can safely relax. But Ukrainians, despite the ban, continue to go on vacation to the sea and swim in places not designated or prohibited for this, which only multiplies tragedies on the water. 

Recall 

 In June 2026, 144 people died on water bodies in Ukraine, including 35 children. This is 60% more than last year, when 90 people drowned.