Two young swimmers lose fingers in freak accidents at competition
Two young swimmers suffered serious injuries in two separate accidents involving starting blocks at Aura Open Cup competition in Tartu.
The first accident happened at 15:30 on Saturday afternoon when Sander Paavo's finger got stuck in the starting block at the start of the 50m breaststroke, Postimees reported.
The doctors managed to salvage Paavo's finger, which was practically torn off in the accident, but his plans for the Nordic and Estonian championships have been put on hold.
The second accident happened on Sunday with Robert Roose, who lost half of his finger when launching into the water from a starting block at the start of another race.
According to Postimees, the starting blocks in question, or more precisely special platforms attached to stationary blocks for competition, belong to the Estonian Swimming Association and have been regularly used in several swimming pools. It is for experts to determine whether the accidents were caused by installation error or something else, the association said.
The association is also meeting with the organizers, owners of the Aura Water Park and the parents of the injured swimmers today.
Editor: M. Oll