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Date Published: 19/08/2022

ARCHIVED - Spain has hit annual drowning death toll by mid-August

ARCHIVED ARTICLE

The experts predict that as many as 400 people will drown in Spain by the end of the year

<span style='color:#780948'>ARCHIVED</span> - Spain has hit annual drowning death toll by mid-August

Hardly a week has gone by without news of a swimming-related tragedy in Spain this summer and the country reached a chilling milestone on Thursday August 18: the same number of drownings so far this year as was recorded in the whole of 2021.

Between January and mid-August, 260 people have lost their lives, according to the National Drowning Report (INA), which predicts around 400 fatalities before the end of the year.

Due in large part to coronavirus restrictions and confinement, Spain’s best record was achieved in 2021, with fewer than 300 deaths. On the other end of the scale, 2017 was the deadliest 12 month period, when 481 people drowned.

In Spain, drowning is now the third leading cause of accidental death.

According to the official statistics, the later in the year the 260-death mark is hit, the fewer the fatalities overall. For example, in 2015, when 415 drownings were reported, 260 deaths were reached by August 23. On the other hand, a total of 338 deaths were registered in 2020, when the 260 figure was hit on August 25.

For the spokesman for the Royal Spanish Federation of Rescue and First Aid, Francisco Cano, this year's situation demonstrates "the need" for public institutions to commit to "a major action to raise social awareness of the problem of aquatic accidents and a State Aquatic Safety Strategy".

Also of interest: Irish tourist drowns at Spanish holiday resort

Image: Pixabay

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