Stay safe: So far this summer there have been 31 nationally reported deaths by drowning. Photo: Anna McGuiness
Photo by
Anna McGuinness
Water safety is paramount this summer as the Royal Life Saving Society records an increase of deaths by drowning since last year.
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After 31 drowning deaths so far this summer, Royal Life Saving Society’s drowning prevention strategy national manager Will Koon said everyone needed to be alert when around water.
“Over the past 20 years, over a quarter — 26 per cent — of all drowning deaths in the country have happened in rivers, and that's compared to 21 per cent at the beach,” he said.
With the lack of a surf life saving presence at Echuca waterways, it’s even more important for people to keep an eye on each other.
“If you're going to a river and it’s not patrolled, it’s really important that you are keeping really close watch on the kids — and that’s your kids, other people’s kids, your family, your neighbour, whoever’s children are around,” Mr Koon said.
“It's also keeping an eye on your mates as well. We really encourage people not to go to these places alone.”
If you do find yourself needing to help someone, Mr Koon said it was still important to look after your own safety.
“Every year we have cases where people drown attempting to rescue other people ... if you're at a river site and somebody gets into trouble and you're in a position where you’re the only one to help, it’s really important that you stay calm, make a plan, think about your own safety first,” Mr Koon said.
“If you get into trouble, there might not be somebody else to help you. If you are going to help someone, make sure you toss them something that floats like a big jug of water that’s empty, an empty water bottle, a rugby ball, anything that’s going to be able to help that person float.”
Mr Koon said alcohol was a major influence on water-related accidents.
“One of the other big factors here that we really need to be talking about is alcohol. As we look back historically, our data tells us that about a quarter of all drowning deaths during the summer period are related to alcohol, and the vast majority of those cases are males,” he said.
Don’t be silly: Emergency medicine director Simon Judkins says ERH sees a lot of people in the summer because of alcohol-related water incidents. Photo: Aidan Briggs
Photo by
Aidan Briggs
ERH director of emergency medicine Simon Judkins has seen the outcomes of many instances of people acting dangerously around water because of the influence of alcohol.
“We do see lots and lots of accidents where people have had a few too many drinks and they try and do something silly to entertain their friends and they end up here with a broken arm or worse,” he said.
“People need to look out for their friends as well and make sure they're not doing stuff, that when you haven't had three or four drinks you might actually consider that's a stupid thing to do.”
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