Two TV journalists and a young footballer in Ireland, a strange drowning in Germany, "at least six dead in Swiss baths and waters," a Finnish track star, a young Greek female athlete, and more
No conspiracy in Switzerland: We have drowning incidents every year, mostly from people who disregard elementary prudence (swimming after a meal, swimming far out in unsurveilled water) and people who cannot swim well enough to manage the whirls in our rivers which can be quite dangerous.
Switzerland is just starting the bathing season. In the southern hemisphere, coming out of summer:
Since 1 December, there have been 39 deaths from drowning in New Zealand, making it the worst summer in six years, with still a month to go. There were 15 drownings during the official holiday period (24 December to 5 January) – a 180% increase on the five-year average, according to Water Safety New Zealand data.
Royal Life Saving’s annual Summer Drowning Toll showed a 30 per cent increase in drowning deaths across Australia in 2021/22, 20% of summer drowning deaths were flooding-related. But there has also been far less overseas tourists and students, which traditionally make up a fair bit of the drownings.
There is a Swiss charity "Schweizerische Lebensrettungsgesellschaft" which is active in the prevention of drowning incidents (https://www.slrg.ch/de/praevention). According to them we have every year several dozen and up to 50 drowning cases. In this country swimming and safe behaviour in water is instructed in families early on (I did it with my children) and is obligatory in schools. Some drowned persons are immigrants (e.g. from the Middle East) who are not aware of the dangers in our local waters and sometimes even resist to let have their children swimming instruction in school. There has been no increase in drowning since COVID (Full disclosure: I am 81 and have been vaccinataed with mRNA three times and in addition had Omikron).
Lukas, have there been similar articles in prior years? That charity's generalizations are not definitive, since they have a vested interest in publicizing drownings in Switzerland.
There is a National Swiss Organisation for the Prevention of Accidents, a nonpartisan organisation financed by the insurances. It commands general respect. They published a study about drowning for the years 2000-2010:
In these years there were about 48 drownings per year, same as today. Drownings happen mostly in (unsurveilled) lakes and rivers, not in pools. And they happen mostly to swimmers, but a significant minority are people falling into the water from boats. The frequency of death by drowning is about double of the frequency of death by avalanche and half of the frequency of death by falls. Might I add that as a physician I have spent years in the town and the national parliaments with a special interest in accident prevention and I habited mostly in "swimming" towns with lakes and rivers (Basel, Zürich, Bern, Geneva). My impression was that most drownings come from sheer sillyness by not applying the most primitive precautions, this is in stark contrast to accidents at work and in traffic.
No conspiracy in Switzerland: We have drowning incidents every year, mostly from people who disregard elementary prudence (swimming after a meal, swimming far out in unsurveilled water) and people who cannot swim well enough to manage the whirls in our rivers which can be quite dangerous.
Can you find any similar article(s) from years past in Switzerland (which has a "vaccination" rate of nearly 69%)?
Switzerland is just starting the bathing season. In the southern hemisphere, coming out of summer:
Since 1 December, there have been 39 deaths from drowning in New Zealand, making it the worst summer in six years, with still a month to go. There were 15 drownings during the official holiday period (24 December to 5 January) – a 180% increase on the five-year average, according to Water Safety New Zealand data.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/jan/29/a-national-tragedy-maori-drowning-rate-causes-alarm-in-new-zealand
Royal Life Saving’s annual Summer Drowning Toll showed a 30 per cent increase in drowning deaths across Australia in 2021/22, 20% of summer drowning deaths were flooding-related. But there has also been far less overseas tourists and students, which traditionally make up a fair bit of the drownings.
https://www.royallifesaving.com.au/research-and-policy/drowning-research/summer-drowning-toll
Thank you, Teresa. Can you email me?
There is a Swiss charity "Schweizerische Lebensrettungsgesellschaft" which is active in the prevention of drowning incidents (https://www.slrg.ch/de/praevention). According to them we have every year several dozen and up to 50 drowning cases. In this country swimming and safe behaviour in water is instructed in families early on (I did it with my children) and is obligatory in schools. Some drowned persons are immigrants (e.g. from the Middle East) who are not aware of the dangers in our local waters and sometimes even resist to let have their children swimming instruction in school. There has been no increase in drowning since COVID (Full disclosure: I am 81 and have been vaccinataed with mRNA three times and in addition had Omikron).
Lukas, have there been similar articles in prior years? That charity's generalizations are not definitive, since they have a vested interest in publicizing drownings in Switzerland.
There is a National Swiss Organisation for the Prevention of Accidents, a nonpartisan organisation financed by the insurances. It commands general respect. They published a study about drowning for the years 2000-2010:
https://www.sg.ch/content/dam/sgch/bildung-sport/sport/schulsport/pdf-themensammlung/bfu_2.079.01_bfu-grundlagen%20%E2%80%93%20t%C3%B6dliche%20ertrinkungsunf%C3%A4lle%20in%20der%20schweiz,%202000-2010.pdf
In these years there were about 48 drownings per year, same as today. Drownings happen mostly in (unsurveilled) lakes and rivers, not in pools. And they happen mostly to swimmers, but a significant minority are people falling into the water from boats. The frequency of death by drowning is about double of the frequency of death by avalanche and half of the frequency of death by falls. Might I add that as a physician I have spent years in the town and the national parliaments with a special interest in accident prevention and I habited mostly in "swimming" towns with lakes and rivers (Basel, Zürich, Bern, Geneva). My impression was that most drownings come from sheer sillyness by not applying the most primitive precautions, this is in stark contrast to accidents at work and in traffic.
I wonder how the number of drowning accidents this season will compare to past seasons in Switzerland.
Odd that there have been upticks in drowning in Australia and NZ, but none in Switzerland.