By Joey Aguilar/Staff Reporter

United Filipino Organisations in Qatar (UFOQ) has urged community members to take all necessary precautions in going to beaches during this winter.
Citing the case of two Filipino engineers who drowned off a beach at Al Khor, UFOQ chairman Jhin Tabuzo said in a statement that the sea level could rise suddenly and pose a threat to beach-goers, especially to those who cannot swim.
“We tend to believe that swimming is easy especially during low tide, the sea is so shallow that we need to go further to have a nice dive,” he noted, expressing deep sadness at the death of the two Filipino professionals.
When going for a swim, at least one member of the group should know how to swim, he suggested. Carrying medical kits at all times and assigning someone to act as a “lookout” from the shoreline, he said, help prevent accidents.
“As we are so preoccupied with our jobs, we simply get into our cars and go during a vacation. But we need to plan the vacation even if it is a short trip,” he said.
It is learnt that many Filipino expatriates love to visit beaches to swim in order to take a break from a stressful week or spend holidays such as Eid al-Adha.
The two victims reportedly went crabbing as far as 3km into the sea, during low tide, without noticing that they were already far from the shoreline.
UFOQ has also reiterated its call to community members to check their vehicles’ condition before using them and follow traffic rules to avoid any accidents on the road.  
Tabuzo said some people, who are too excited to take a swim, tend to drive as fast as they can and ignore the speed limit on a particular road. This has caused many accidents and claimed the lives of motorists involved in such mishaps.
He noted that driving outside Doha is quite different from going around the city. “The most common issue in driving accidents is that the driver feels the road is friendly to visitors. We tend to be complacent that the roads are going to our favourite destinations are similar to those in the city, only to find that driving on the outskirts is different from driving in urban areas.”
Tabuzo also warned beach-goers to be careful while walking on the shoreline as sharp shells, stones and other objects might cause injuries to their feet.