The number of fatal swimming accidents has increased compared to the previous year. The DLRG not only warns against swimming in unguarded lakes and rivers, but also against a lack of lifeguards. In addition, many children did not learn to swim during the corona pandemic.
At least 199 people have drowned in German waters in the first seven months of this year. The German Life Saving Society (DLRG) in Damp near Eckernförde on the Baltic Sea announced that there were 15 victims more than at the same time last year. The cut-off date for the census was July 20.
Most accidents happened inland on unpatrolled waters. According to the DLRG, 180 people drowned in open water such as rivers and lakes, which corresponds to 90 percent of the cases. “We appeal to people’s common sense not to go swimming in completely unsupervised lakes and certainly not in rivers,” said DLRG President Ute Vogt. If something happens there, the prospect of life-saving help is often zero.
So far, four people have died in the North and Baltic Seas, significantly fewer than at this point last year, when the number was 16. Four out of five drowned were male, it said. 87 victims were older than 50 years, ten were children of preschool or primary school age.
Since fewer children learned to swim during the pandemic and only half as many lifeguards were trained, Vogt fears for the safety of the waters. Many outdoor pools were looking for staff in vain, and the DLRG also found it much more difficult than usual to fill the stations on the North Sea and Baltic Sea before the summer holidays, she explained.
Vogt called for “great efforts” in swimming training and lifeguards. In addition, the closure of pools due to energy shortages in autumn or winter must be avoided for as long as possible.
