DEAR Editor,-
The recent Lion Air passenger plane crash into the sea shortly after taking off reminded me how much we actually underestimate water. One would think that water is soft and that when you crash into it one would land gently, but that is far from the truth.
ALSO READ : UPDATE: Both bodies have been recovered after drowning incident at Sezela
What many people don’t know is that hitting the surface tension of water at high speed is the equivalent of hitting concrete. We should all treat water with the respect it deserves, whether crashing into it or swimming in it.
Most drownings occur because people cannot swim or they panic and it remains one of the top causes of unnatural childhood deaths in South Africa.
For every child that perishes from drowning, five children involved in near-drowning experiences are left with permanent brain damage.
It takes only four minutes without oxygen for irreversible brain damage to occur. In South Africa, drowning statistics indicate that more than one child dies every day.
Some water safety rules to follow:
* Children should never be near swimming pools without supervision;
* Fish only at designated fishing spots and always with adult supervision;
* Do not walk or play on bridges or gates near canals or lagoons;
* Children should not fetch water from rivers and canals unsupervised;
* Rituals should not be practiced in or near rivers;
* Report children playing near rivers, and
* Avoid river banks because they can be muddy and slippery.
During their ‘Canal Awareness Campaign’ in June, the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) communicated the importance of water safety throughout the country in an effort to curb the number of drownings.
Spring and summer seasons brings people to locations with rivers, beaches and swimming pools and DWS implores that special care is taken around water and that children are supervised.
LARRY CRISP
Department of Water and Sanitation
HAVE YOUR SAY
Like the South Coast Herald’s Facebook page, follow us on Twitter and Instagram
For news straight to your phone, add us on WhatsApp 082 421 6033
