From November last year to January 7, 2025, at least 55 people have drowned across the country, with KwaZulu-Natal accounting for the highest number of deaths and highlighting the need for swimming education and public awareness.
This is according to Lifesaving South Africa (LSA), which is a national association that performs more than 5,000 rescues per annum and has over 8,000 members, with more than 4,000 performing voluntary lifeguard duties.
LSA operates at more than 60 coastal surf clubs and at 22 inland pool and dam venues.
The associations stats revealed that in November 2024, 21 people drowned, including 12 in KwaZulu-Natal, five‘ivef in the Western Cape, two in the Eastern Cape, and two in Limpopo. The majority of drownings during this period were in the ocean.
In December, when most people travel to beaches and spend time at pools or dams with their friends and families, the number of deaths due to drowning increased to 27, including nine in KZN, seven in the Western Cape, six in the Eastern Cape, three in Gauteng, and two in Mpumalanga. The majority of these drownings happened in the ocean.
In the first week of January, seven people have already tragically died in our waters.
“It is noted that there is still a week to go before the schools and academic institutions reopen for 2025, and it is expected that the beaches and other waterways will remain busy,” said LSA president Dhaya Sewduth.
Sewduth said that in the latter half of November 2024, there was a spate of 21 drownings reported, which the association had not seen in previous years.
He said the number of fatal drownings coincided with the emergence of hot weather as well as the closing of examinations, schools, and universities.
“During December 2024 to the first week of January 2025, the number of drownings doubled to 42, which consisted of 34 cases of fatal drownings and eight non-fatal.”
Sewduth stated that with regard to the cases of drownings in the ocean, reports showed that most were at non-designated duty areas or non-lifeguarded beaches, while three of the cases in Cape Town were after duty hours.
He advised that reports of rescues and first aid cases are currently being validated with the volunteer clubs and municipalities and will be made available upon completion.
While the reports are still coming in, Sewduth said the association acknowledges that its members, as well as the professional lifeguards, executed several hundreds of help-outs and serious rescues.
“Had it not been for the proactive actions of the lifesavers, the drowning fatalities would have been much higher.”
Lifesaving SA commended all lifeguards, both professional and volunteer, for their services given to the communities around the country during this past festive season.
The association also applauded the efforts of its voluntary lifesavers who worked tirelessly alongside municipal employed professional lifeguards for their sterling work in maintaining drowning-free days during the peak summer holidays.
“It is no mean feat indeed considering that the country’s popular beaches attract several thousand bathers and picnickers each day of the summer holidays,” said Sewduth, adding that according to records, there were large crowds seen using pools and waterparks, keeping lifeguards extremely busy.
Sewduth said in order to prevent drownings, the public needs to be educated more, and people need to be equipped with more swimming skills.
He added that more pools needed to be provided for the public, and he called for more government action in this regard.
Lifesaving SA lists concerns during the festive season:
- From the drowning cases, it is apparent that there is still ignorance about rip tides and how to spot them or keep away from these rips.
- Lack of swimming skills remains a concern for all communities.
- Swimming pools that are still non-operational for the public to use locally.
- The use of alcohol on beaches despite the strict controls by Metro Police and SAPS to search and confiscate alcohol brought to the beaches.
- The number of young victims who are still unsupervised.
- The lack of swimming skills and risk assessments in remote rivers and dams where swimming is often unsupervised, and lifeguards are not present.
Lifesaving SA attributes the drowning-free duty days to the following:
- The proactive efforts of the lifeguards in assessing the conditions, establishing the safest bathing zones, and keeping the large numbers under expert surveillance.
- The education advisories delivered through its WaterSmart Programmes, media releases, public service announcements, and TV interviews, social media campaigns.
- Most of the bathers complied with the lifeguards by swimming between the red and yellow flags or within the designated areas.
- Strict controls by metro police and SAPS to search and confiscate alcohol being brought onto the beaches.