BERLIN, June 6 (Xinhua) -- The German life saving association (DLRG) saved 974 people from drowning in German lakes, rivers and seas in 2018, an increase of nearly 30 percent from 2017, Achim Haag, president of DLRG, announced on Thursday.

Despite the successful rescue operations, "we cannot, of course, ignore the high number of drowned people last year. After all, at least 504 people lost their lives in the water," said DLRG president Haag.

According to the German life guards from DLRG, most deaths occurred in inland waters, as these would only be "rarely guarded" by lifeguards. The risk of drowning would be "much higher" here.

The most frequent reasons which caused rescue missions would have been "carelessness, overestimation of one's own abilities or a lack of knowledge about the waters", explained Haag.

In total, about 3 million hours of sentry duty had been absolved on a "honorary basis" by more than 45,000 German lifeguards. With almost 1.8 million members and sponsors, the DLRG is one of the largest water rescue organizations in the world.

Last weekend, several people died in German waters. German media reported that a five-year-old, two 11-year-olds as well as a 19-year-old and a 78-year-old man were among the victims.

The low swimming ability among schoolchildren in Germany would be particularly worrying, said Haag. A survey by the DLRG showed that almost two thirds of 9-10 year olds were "not good swimmers" in 2017.

Haag criticized "deteriorating conditions" for learning to swim that school pupils in Germany faced. The number of public swimming pools in Germany being closed would increase constantly.

To counteract the closure of public swimming pools in Germany, the DLRG had launched a petition in 2018 that has been signed by more than 100,000 people since. Enditem

Related

Go to Forum >>0 Comment(s)