Holiday warning after 8 people including 5 kids drown in rivers & sea in just 2 weeks with hot weather set to continue
SWIMMERS have been warned to beware of hidden dangers after eight people including five children drowned in just two weeks amid hot weather.
Water safety charities today called for Brits to be more careful while wild swimming in the sea, lakes and rivers.
It comes after 15-year-old Abbie Walton died at the River Etherow in Broadbottom, Greater Manchester, on Wednesday.
And a boy, 14, died in the early hours of Thursday morning after first getting into trouble while swimming in Cumbria’s River Eden on May 26.
His friend Lewis Michael Kirkpatrick, 15, died in the same incident.
The six other victims of tragic drownings so far this month are:
- Erin Madden, 15, who drowned after getting into difficulty swimming at Carr Mill Dam in St Helens, Merseyside, on June 1;
- Freya Carley, 16, who was pulled from the ocean in Saltburn on the afternoon of Sunday, June 4;
- A man who died after being pulled from river in Ayreshire on Wednesday, June 14;
- A woman in her 70s who died after swimming in River Avon near Evesham on Wednesday, June 14;
- A schoolboy died Thursday morning after getting into trouble in Cumbria’s River Eden on May 26;
- Most recently, on June 18 a man died after entering Roath Lake, in Wales.
Soaring temperatures have seen more Brits take to the country’s waterways to cool off in the last two weeks.
But experts are urging parents to teach their children how to keep safe while swimming with pals.
Lee Heard, charity director at the Royal Life Saving Society UK, said he was “saddened but not surprised” by the deaths.
He told Sun Online: “This time of year we do see a significant spike in the number of people losing lives.
“Some 46 per cent of fatal drownings happen across the summer months.
“I’m always devastated for the families involved but it doesn’t surprise me.”
He called on Brits to realise the differences between swimming in cold bodies of water and learning to swim in a heated pool.
“Those skills don’t translate to a cold open water environment, when your body can’t react to the cold water and moving currents and there’s no luxury of a lifeguard.
“If you’re going into cold bodies of water evaluate the perception of your ability to do that.
“Go somewhere that has the supervision of qualified lifeguards – go to red and yellow beach flags.”
He urged weaker swimmers to avoid the water, or at least stick to the edge where it’s easier to get out and be seen by a potential rescuer.
He added: “Take this simple advice instead of panicking. Lie on your back, float like a starfish and look up to the sky.
“Keep your airways clear so you have vital moments to be pulled out.”
There were 226 deaths in the UK from accidental drownings in the sea alone in 2022, according to the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI).
Ross Macleod, water safety expert at the RNLI, said: “As we approach warmer weather and enter into the weekend, we are expecting the coast to be incredibly busy.
‘We want to make sure that if an emergency unfolds, people know what to do.
‘’If you get into trouble in the water, Float to Live: tilt your head back with ears submerged and try to relax and control your breathing.
“Use your hands to help you stay afloat and then call for help to swim to safety if you can.”
Expert Ella Foote said wild swimming can be incredibly dangerous.
She added: “There are risks that you wouldn’t need to consider if swimming in a pool.
“As well as obvious hazards like weeds and wildlife, you should also consider tides, water temperature, weather, entry and exit, currents, and obstructions.
“The best thing to take with you to the water is some simple knowledge and basic common sense.”
The warnings come after teenager Abbie’s pal revealed her horror as she desperately tried to save her.
The girl is understood to have got into difficulty in the water hours after Broadbottom‘s annual duck race and BBQ on Wednesday.
In a touching tribute on Facebook, Mia wrote: “Abbie I’m sorry I couldn’t help you.
“Listening to you scream my name is replaying in my head I tried hard to grab you but I couldn’t do anything more.
“I love you so much angel, rest in peace.”