At least 261 people have died in swimming and water-related accidents in Germany during the first seven months of this year. That is 15 more than in the same period last year, the German Life Saving Association (DLRG) announced in an interim report on Thursday in Bad Nenndorf. Since the start of the swimming season in early May alone, 189 people have drowned.
"June in particular saw a dramatic rise in accidents," DLRG president Ute Vogt reported. More than 100 victims were recorded that month alone, the highest number since 2003. According to the DLRG, 90 percent of deaths occurred in freely accessible inland waters. "The figures show once again that the danger to life is greatest precisely where rescue services are mostly absent," Vogt explained.
According to the report, 118 people died in lakes and ponds, 22 more than in the same period last year, while 90 died in streams and rivers. A further 17 people drowned in canals, the DLRG said, with 14 deaths in the Baltic Sea and another 14 in swimming pools.
The number of deaths has risen again among young people between the ages of 11 and 30 in particular. So far this year, 75 people in this age group have drowned, compared with 49 in the same period last year. A clear 95 percent of the younger victims were men and boys.
According to DLRG president Vogt, reckless behavior combined with alcohol or drugs is behind the frequent swimming accidents among young men. "Others cannot swim, or can barely swim, and put themselves in completely unnecessary mortal danger." Across all age groups, the proportion of male victims stood at 85 percent overall.
Among children up to the age of ten, there were at least eight victims. In the 51-to-70 age group, there were 41 deaths, 20 fewer than the previous year. Nearly one in four fatalities whose age is known was over 70 years old. Among older swimmers in particular, pre-existing health conditions, overestimating their own abilities, and insufficient caution repeatedly led to accidents.
In light of these figures, the DLRG is calling for greater awareness of the dangers posed by water. According to president Vogt, too few children are learning to swim: "We continue to assume that the majority of children leave elementary school without having earned a swimming badge, or without being able to swim at all." Being a confident swimmer, however, remains the best protection against drowning.
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