New Zealand edging towards worst drowning record in a decade
Tuesday, 27 December 2022
The country could be heading for a bleak record, with a total of 89 people drowning so far this year.
The latest deaths on the water include three incidents in the space of five hours on Boxing Day and early Tuesday morning.
On Christmas Day a canoeist drowned in a Christchurch lake.
Provisional data from Water Safety NZ shows there have been 89 preventable drowning deaths so far this year.
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This compares with 86 at the same time last year, Water Safety NZ chief executive Daniel Gerrard said.
In 2021, there were a total of 90 drownings, the highest in a decade and well above the 10-year average of 80.
While the year is almost over, the festive period is a peak time for drownings, with 14 people drowning in last year’s official holiday period – the worst in 40 years.
The official 2022 Christmas New Year holiday period started at 4pm on Friday, December 23 and finishes at 6am on Wednesday, January 4.
Gerrard said people needed to make smarter decisions around the water, with drownings usually a combination of people “behaving badly” and adverse conditions.
“First and foremost is men behaving badly. Over 80% of all fatalities are men and they are generally over 50 years old,” he said.
Police investigating the Christmas Day death of a canoeist urged people to wear a life jacket to prevent further drownings.
Key safety messages from Water Safety NZ include always taking a buddy, swimming between the flags at patrolled beaches, constant active adult supervision of children around water at all times, watching out for rips, and always wearing a lifejacket on boats and while fishing from rocks or net fishing.
Boaties and paddlers also need to take two waterproof forms of communication with them whenever they head out on the water.
The drownings so far for the 2022 Christmas and New Year holiday period include:
A canoeist who capsized in Christchurch’s Lake Roto Kohatu on Christmas Day. The body was found by Police National Dive Squad on Boxing Day.
Waihau Bay resident Jim Kemp, who was pulled from the water at Cape Runaway, Ōpōtiki, at about 7pm on Boxing Day. He was given medical assistance but died at the scene.
A person pulled from the water in Auckland’s Pukekohe at about 9.30pm on Boxing Day. Attempts to resuscitate the person failed.
A man who drowned in a late-night swim in the Hutt River in Kaitoke Regional Park, at about 12.15am on Tuesday.