Surf lifesavers are appealing to beachgoers to stay safe during the festive season, with research showing the risk of drowning deaths doubles during the summer holiday period.
Surf Life Saving Queensland issued a media release on Thursday, imploring people to make safety a priority.
They said young adults aged 16-39 years old continue to be a high-risk demographic, with research showing that risk-taking behaviour leads to a higher number of drowning deaths during the holidays.
Surf Life Saving Queensland Head of Lifeguard Operations Calan Lovitt urged caution.
“We want everyone to have a safe and enjoyable holiday period, however history tells us that this is a time when people are more likely to swim at unpatrolled locations, mix swimming with alcohol or drugs and take other unnecessary risks,” he said via a media release.
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“So please, make this festive season a safe one, swim at a patrolled beach and make sure you follow the advice of surf lifesavers and lifeguards.”
There were a spate of tragedies at local beaches last season.
The annual Coast Safe Report, compiled by Surf Life Saving Queensland, was in September released on the Sunshine Coast, where 10 of the state’s 14 beach-related drowning deaths occurred from September 2022 to May 2023.
A torrent of people swam outside the red and yellow flags during the peak of the 2022/2023 summer holiday season.
More than one in three people went into the water outside patrolled areas during December 2022 and January 2023, when an estimated 526,691 swimmers entered the ocean outside the flags.
Beach advice
- Swim at a patrolled beach between the red and yellow flags
- Always supervise children in, on and around water
- Avoid alcohol and drugs around water
- Wear a lifejacket when boating, rock fishing or paddling
- Check the conditions, including weather forecasts
- Know your limits
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