Safety tips to follow when spending time next to the pool or at the beach this holiday

Enjoy the festive season responsibly and be water safe.

December 21, 2017

Caxton Central 2 minutes read

be careful when swimming over the holidays. photo supplied

In recent months, ER24 has responded to a number of drownings. Two people lost their lives in two separate incidents in KwaZulu-Natal dams and a 1-year-old drowned in the swimming pool of his family’s home in Kempton Park.

The number of drowning incidents will most likely increase leading up to the summer months and the festive holidays.

Natasha Kriel, an Advanced Life Support paramedic at ER24’s South Metro branch in the Western Cape, spoke to us about drownings and what safety tips to follow when spending time next to the pool or at the beach.

Also Read: UPDATE: Man drowns in Manoutsa pool

Natasha is also a lifeguard with 8 years’ experience and, with the help of the (NSRI) National Sea Rescue Institute, she established a lifesaving club in her hometown of Melkbosstrand.

“Holidaymakers flock to the beaches for some relaxation time during summer. It is sometimes difficult to ensure that all swimmers are water safety conscious, especially when they swim at beaches or dams where there are no active lifeguards on duty.

“A few years ago, while I was patrolling Milnerton beach there was a drowning in progress at the lagoon which is about 800m from where our patrol area was.

“We ran down and started searching for the person but we never found them. That was quite a sad case for me because they were swimming so far from where we were patrolling – we ended up being too late.

The designated areas are there for a reason. They are there for safety, not just for the currents but also closer to where the lifeguards are – which in turn ensures that our response times are shorter, quicker and we can get to the person before they submerge,” said Natasha.

“One of the biggest dangers is when the children get in trouble and family members jump in to assist but they can’t swim either and we end up with mass casualties. This happens at beaches and dams quite often,” said Natasha.

In beach and swimming pool instances, learn to do basic CPR. Make sure the person is out of the water, awake and breathing. Shout for help.

“The public needs to be educated around children and water; baths, buckets of water, any form of water can be dangerous. It is vital that you learn first aid and CPR. You never know when you may need to assist someone in need. Educate yourself and ensure your child’s safety,” said Natasha.

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December 21, 2017

Caxton Central 2 minutes read

Emelda Tintswalo Shipalana

Tintswalo Shipalana, a journalist for the Letaba Herald, has been in the media industry for over a decade. She started her journey in radio, but ended up in print which is her first love. She joined the Herald newspaper as a cadet in 2016, where she graduated with a journalism qualification from the Caxton Training Academy. She also has a qualification in Feature Writing from the University of Cape Town and a Media Management qualification from Wits University. She is completing her BA Communication Science degree with UNISA. She sleeps well at night knowing she is a voice to the voiceless and her work contributes to promoting local talent, businesses and service delivery. Her love for her community keeps her working hard every day.