Some 700 accidental drownings, including 168 fatal, occurred in France between June and early August. A declining figure, but vigilance remains in order.
Illustrative image. © Microgen
In investigation published this Thursday, August 12, Public Health France takes stock of the drownings that occurred between June and early August. A total of 700 accidental drownings were recorded, including 168 resulting in death.
These figures are down slightly compared to the previous survey in 2018 which reported 889 accidental drownings, including 198 fatal, explains Public Health France.
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“Much less favorable” climatic conditions
This decrease “could be linked to climatic conditions much less favorable for swimming“, explains the health agency in a press release.”There is a notable drop in the first half of July and the very first days of August“, a period when the weather was particularly gloomy, Aymeric Ung, head of the investigation, told AFP.
Compared to the same period in 2018, these accidents are down 22% (889 drownings including 198 fatalities).
In 2018, “the climatic conditions had been ideal most of the summer, with a heat wave period between the end of July and the beginning of August“, more suitable for swimming, he adds.
A high number of drownings between June and July
At the beginning of the summer, the health agency was worried about a high number of drownings that had occurred between June and July (300 including 79 deaths), an assessment that could have been worsened according to it by the post-containment release (poor condition physical, weight gain ..).
But the summer of 2021 is not over and the risk will increase with the strong heat that is announced in part of France, warns the epidemiologist.
The survey highlights that the number of drownings of young children (17), mainly in private swimming pools, is identical to 2018 over the same period. Now these dramas are “perfectly avoidable“, insists the expert.
57% of deaths among those over 45
Most of the accidents (293) took place at sea – in the 300-meter band – between June and early August. Next are private swimming pools (133), watercourses such as rivers and streams (88), lake-type water bodies (82), collective swimming pools (63), the sea beyond 300 meters (26 ) and 15 in basins and bathtubs.
57% of deaths occurred in people aged 45 and over. And unlike 2018, deaths in rivers and bodies of water “did not concern only adults, but also children and adolescents“, according to SpF.
