The level is still relatively low, but after four years with a downward trend, the number of bathing deaths in Germany is increasing again. The DLRG also warns against careless behavior this season. One section of the population in particular is worrying lifeguards.
At least 355 people drowned in Germany in 2022 – 56 more than the year before. This was announced by the German Life Saving Society (DLRG). “For the first time in four years, we have recorded an increase in fatal accidents in the water,” said the organization’s president, Ute Vogt. The association has presented the figures annually since 2000 to draw attention to dangers.
Compared to the previous year, the number of fatal swimming accidents increased by almost 19 percent, as the DLRG announced. One reason: “During the long, warm summer without any significant corona-related restrictions, people went swimming again in mostly unguarded lakes and rivers,” said Vogt. Overall, however, the number remains at a low level. For example, there are 16 percent fewer victims over the year than the average for the past ten years.
According to statistics, 80 percent of those who drowned are male. According to the information, most people drowned in lakes and rivers and during the bathing season from May to August. But the number of drowned people has also increased in swimming pools. “With a view to the coming bathing season, we appeal not to go swimming in unguarded waters and not to act recklessly,” warned the DLRG boss. In the North and Baltic Seas, however, the number of accidents fell overall. In 65 cases, lifeguards from the DLRG saved lives there, it said.
In a comparison of the federal states, most people drowned in Bavaria in absolute numbers (69 compared to 60 in the previous year). In North Rhine-Westphalia, the number of deaths in the water has more than doubled from 24 to 56. There was also a significant increase in Berlin: from 8 to 18. 42 cases occurred in Lower Saxony; the year before it had been 26.
In contrast, fewer cases were counted in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania (minus 12), Hesse (minus 5), Saxony (minus 5) and Baden-Württemberg (minus 7).
According to the DLRG, 20 children between the ages of zero and ten were among the victims (2021: 17). “Especially the children and young people cause us concern when we think about the coming summer,” said Ute Vogt.
A survey commissioned by the DLRG and conducted by the opinion research institute Forsa recently showed that the number of primary school children who cannot swim has doubled to 20 percent since 2017. The DLRG President therefore demanded again: “Just as boys and girls learn to read, write and do arithmetic, they must also learn to swim. We must ensure that every child can swim safely by the end of primary school.”