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Dillingen shocked: 22-year-old drowns – 48 bathing deaths in Bavaria already!
A 22-year-old man drowns in Dillingen on the Danube. Bavaria has recorded 48 swimming accidents this year. Swimming skills often unknown.
Dillingen shocked: 22-year-old drowns – 48 bathing deaths in Bavaria already!
In a tragic incident, a 22-year-old refugee drowned in a pond near Dillingen on the Danube. The emergency call was made at midday when witnesses noticed the person going under. Despite the immediate intervention of rescue workers, including the water rescue service and divers, the young man's body could only be recovered about 45 minutes after the emergency call. All attempts to revive him failed.
This incident joins worrying statistics in Bavaria. So far in 2023, 48 people have drowned while swimming, which is 13 more than in the previous year. BR reports. Nationwide, the German Life Saving Society (DLRG) registered at least 236 drownings in the first seven months of the year. This shows a worrying trend: the number of drownings has increased for the third time in a row.
Growing dangers in water bodies
According to the DLRG, at least 411 fatal accidents occurred in waterways nationwide in 2024, which is the highest number since 2019. DLRG President Ute Vogt emphasized that more than 400 victims were identified for the first time since 2019. There has also been an increase in adult drownings here: over 60 percent of those affected were over 50 years old, which could be due to health problems combined with the challenges of the summer heat DLRG.
In 2024, 80 people drowned in August, which is 33 more than the previous year. A trend that is causing concern among experts in many places. The DLRG also plans to inform parents of small children about the particular dangers of water, as 14 children under the age of ten died while swimming this year, which is still a decrease compared to 17 last year.
Risk groups and causes
A big problem are careless moments, which can often be decisive in swimming accidents. Older people in particular represent a risk group, as previous illnesses and overconfidence often lead to tragic incidents. A good quarter of the victims whose ages were known were people over 70 years old. This year, a total of 70 people drowned in Bavaria, the highest number in recent years.
The DLRG has also found that around 20 percent of primary school children leave school without having learned to swim sufficiently. This further increases the risk of accidents on the water. daily news reports that accidents often occur not only when swimming in lakes and rivers, but also in garden ponds and paddling pools. Therefore, preventative education is extremely important in order to avoid such tragedies in the future.
These sad figures should serve as a reminder to all of us to exercise caution when swimming and to always pay attention to our own safety and that of those around us. Because sometimes a moment of inattention can result in tragedy.