Durban - Almost 1500 people drown in South Africa annually.
“The majority of these deaths occur in children under 14 years of age, with the largest group within those deaths being from birth to four years,” said Dr Jill Fortuin-Abrahams, National Sea Rescue Institute’s executive director for drowning prevention.
And according to ER 24, of the 1450 drownings reported, the majority were male victims.
Fortuin-Abrahams said: “It’s a major concern that almost 1,500 people – an enormous number – drown every year in South Africa, especially because most of these deaths are actually preventable.”
She said the highest numbers of drownings were recorded in KwaZulu-Natal, followed by the Eastern Cape and then Gauteng.
“Most people in South Africa drown, not in the ocean, but in fresh water, be it a swimming pool, a river, a dam, a bath or even a bucket of water.”
She said the easing of Covid-19 lockdown restrictions earlier this year, led to an increase in the number of drownings, as more people flocked to the beaches.
“The main reason for children drowning is that they have been left unsupervised around water and that they are unable to swim.
“When most people think about water safety, they think of lifeguards, but nobody is really focussed on the small things in and around the home,” says Fortuin-Abrahams.
“It’s so easy to do the washing and leave a bucket of water unattended, and when you turn around, your child has fallen into the bucket. It’s very easy for these things to happen. It’s silent, extremely quick and can happen to anybody.”
According to Petro Jonker, ER24 Learning and Development Facilitator, a common factor in drowning incidents among adults in South Africa is substance abuse, be it alcohol, drug or prescription medication.
“Alcohol impairs one’s judgement and concentration, significantly increasing the chances of drowning and not being able to respond quickly enough to a water emergency.”
Safety tips:
Close supervision: Never leave children alone and unattended around water, not even for a minute. Don’t leave buckets of water or other liquid into which a child could fall. If it is a pool area, dam, river or the ocean, make sure an adult is present, that he or she is capable of swimming themselves and is 100% focussed on the swimmers – not distracted by their mobile phones or working, with ‘one eye on the kids’.
Safeguard water bodies: Swimming pools should have effective barrier devices such as child-safe pool covers and/or gates.
Lifeguards: Swim only at public pools and beaches where there are lifeguards.
Never swim while intoxicated.
Teach swimming, water safety and safe rescue skills.
IOL