Incident near the Blue Cave: British woman seriously injured, speedboat propeller catches her legs

A British tourist suffered serious injuries in an incident that occurred on Saturday in the waters of the Luštica peninsula, near the Blue Cave.

While swimming in one of the smaller sea caves located near the Blue Cave, she was struck and seriously injured in both legs by the propeller of a speedboat with the registration number 192KT, which had previously brought this British woman and several other tourists to visit this cave.

The skipper of the speedboat Ž.M. allegedly panicked when he saw that the current and waves were carrying him towards the cave wall and cut off the engine at the moment when the British woman was swimming in the water near the back of the speedboat, causing the propeller to catch the tourist's legs.

The injured British woman was immediately pulled from the sea onto a speedboat that headed towards the Portonovi marina in Kumbor, where the tourist was handed over to the Emergency Medical Services team from Herceg Novi and taken for further treatment.

Video made in the Blue Cave three days ago, source: Reader Vijesti

The Herceg Novi police are investigating this incident, that is, collecting all the information that will be the basis for the competent prosecutor to decide whether to prosecute skipper Ž.M. for a misdemeanor or a criminal offense.

The police temporarily seized the speedboat 192KT, which, according to unofficial information, belongs to a certain entrepreneur Simović from Kotor, who provides taxi boat and excursion tours by speedboat in Boka Bay.

The Maritime Ministry's inspections have allegedly already imposed several fines on Simović this summer, totaling nearly 40.000 euros, for various violations of the Navigation Safety Act recorded during inspections of his vessel at sea.

Video made in the Blue Cave three days ago, source: Reader Vijesti

The Ministry of Maritime Affairs recently adopted a new regulation on the way the navigation system in Boka should function, which, among other things, prohibits entry to the Blue Cave by motorized vessels, precisely because of the risk of an accident like the one that occurred yesterday in the Luštica coastline - that a propeller could injure one of the swimmers swimming in the cave.

However, this has not prevented unscrupulous entrepreneurs who provide speedboat excursion tours to tourists from occasionally entering the Blue Cave by speedboat, or from taking tourists on these vessels to one of the smaller and less visually attractive similar sea caves near the Blue Cave.

The police and the Ministry of Maritime Affairs have not yet officially commented on yesterday's serious incident and the serious injury of a British tourist by the skipper of one of the Kotor entrepreneurs - speedboaters as they are called in Boka.

The Ministry of Maritime Affairs unofficially announced that due to this incident, they will further intensify inspection controls at sea, especially when it comes to speedboats, and that from now on, for every serious violation, they will immediately seize the vessel with which it was committed, because recently passed amendments to the relevant regulations allow them to seize such vessels.