NSRI urges schools, and parents, to be safety conscious around water

This past weekend NSRI responded to three drowning accidents involving children – 2 on the coast and one on an inland dam. In total two children drowned (age 9 and 13), two were hospitalised for secondary drowning and one (age 11) remains missing, feared drowned. Both coastal incidents were supervised school outings to the beach and these tragic accidents have again highlighted the necessity for basic water safety precautions.NSRI are urgently appealing to schools, and parents, across our country to educate children to be safety conscious around water and to always ensure responsible adult supervision for children around all water including swimming pools, rivers, lakes, dams and at the beach. Supervising teachers should be adequately prepared to deal with an emergency.Statistics from The Medical Research Council show children up to the age of 14 are most at risk from drowning in South Africa.NSRI’s WaterWise Academy has successfully trained over 500 000 children around South Africa on water safety, what to do in an emergency and how to initiate basic bystander CPR.The festive season is around the corner and the tragic loss of children’s lives this weekend is a stark reminder to us all. You should only swim where lifeguards are on duty.TO REPORT A SEA RESCUE EMERGENCY DIAL 112 FROM A CELLPHONESMS 32287 with your name and a message of support for our Sea Rescue crew (SMS charged at R1) File image