MORE than 50 people - at least three a day - have drowned in South Africa since the beginning of the year.
Seven more people are feared dead in KwaZulu-Natal and Bronkhorspruit, east of Pretoria.
Four of the seven people are believed to have been washed away by floods in KZN. The other three went missing after a boating accident in Bronkhorspruit.
National Sea Rescue Institute spokesman Craig Lambinon said there had been an unusually high number of drownings and urged people to be cautious .
On January 9 the institute had recorded 23 drownings at sea alone. The other drownings occurred in pools and dams.
lAt the weekend, two men drowned during a family get-together on North Beach in Durban.
lA 19-year-old first-year student drowned at the North West University pool on January 22. Thabang Makhoang drowned while he and 76 others were taking part in a fruit festival. The group went to the sports grounds pool to clean themselves up.
lAn elderly woman and two children drowned in a canal in Taung, North West, last week. The children, aged two and five, were swimming in the 30km canal.
"We urge recreational bathers and boaters to exercise extreme caution," Lambinon said.
Statistics of the Medical Research Council show the greatest number of drowning accidents occur among child-ren aged between five and 14 in swimming pools, rivers, lakes and dams.
Lambinon said to address this issue the institute established the WaterWise campaign, which is aimed at educating young children about water safety at schools.
Their website highlights that "even competent swimmers can drown, so instead of teaching kids to swim, we teach them how to rescue".
"Our aim is to make youngsters aware of the dangers around water and to give them hands-on practical experience of how to act in an emergency," the institute said.
"Who to call and what to do while they wait for help to arrive."
About 6500 children were reached in 2005. The number escalated to 39900 in 2008. Last year they reached 50477 children.
Plan to address unusually high drownings
MORE than 50 people - at least three a day - have drowned in South Africa since the beginning of the year.
Seven more people are feared dead in KwaZulu-Natal and Bronkhorspruit, east of Pretoria.
Four of the seven people are believed to have been washed away by floods in KZN. The other three went missing after a boating accident in Bronkhorspruit.
National Sea Rescue Institute spokesman Craig Lambinon said there had been an unusually high number of drownings and urged people to be cautious .
On January 9 the institute had recorded 23 drownings at sea alone. The other drownings occurred in pools and dams.
lAt the weekend, two men drowned during a family get-together on North Beach in Durban.
lA 19-year-old first-year student drowned at the North West University pool on January 22. Thabang Makhoang drowned while he and 76 others were taking part in a fruit festival. The group went to the sports grounds pool to clean themselves up.
lAn elderly woman and two children drowned in a canal in Taung, North West, last week. The children, aged two and five, were swimming in the 30km canal.
"We urge recreational bathers and boaters to exercise extreme caution," Lambinon said.
Statistics of the Medical Research Council show the greatest number of drowning accidents occur among child-ren aged between five and 14 in swimming pools, rivers, lakes and dams.
Lambinon said to address this issue the institute established the WaterWise campaign, which is aimed at educating young children about water safety at schools.
Their website highlights that "even competent swimmers can drown, so instead of teaching kids to swim, we teach them how to rescue".
"Our aim is to make youngsters aware of the dangers around water and to give them hands-on practical experience of how to act in an emergency," the institute said.
"Who to call and what to do while they wait for help to arrive."
About 6500 children were reached in 2005. The number escalated to 39900 in 2008. Last year they reached 50477 children.
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