Does anyone know exactly why all these people died? They quote them encountering “difficulty” in the waters a few times, but what on Earth does that mean?
Did they not know how to swim?
Did they enter very cold waters and suffer hypothermia?
Were there currents that hindered their ability to swim to safety?
Did they suffer an injury playing with other kids?
Did they suffer an injury jumping into the water?
Did they encounter a blob like the Stephen King film?
Each of these, and many other options, present a very different risk, and simply saying “difficulty” only opens it up to speculation and general aversion to what is usually a very pleasant experience.
AnxiousDoor2233 on
I wonder what they expect. The chances are small, but the number of people swimming is huge. Things happen. Teenagers can be reckless, and their risk assessment is often inadequate. Parents have only limited control over children of their age. Plus some level of negligence on top. Plus half term.
WollemiaShagger on
The cold shock thing is complete bullshit, these rivers and lakes are relatively warm; people in my town jump into the north sea and are fine. These kids just can’t swim or are getting snagged on fly-tipped rubbish.
Far_Excitement_1875 on
Remember though, they want us to think climate change is a fringe concern and net zero ‘just isn’t realistic’.
teethofthewind on
Regardless of the awareness issues, I just feel so sorry for these kids and their families. What an awful way to go…I can only imagine the terror these poor children went through when they inhaled water and realised “this is it”. Nobody deserves that, no matter how foolish the initial action was.
DevilsAdvocate1662 on
As someone who grew up swimming in the local reservoir for years, both with my dad (who was a trained diving instructor) and with my friends, I’d love to know how these people keep dying.
Like, I’m not ignorant or anything, I’m aware of the dangers, but I’m also a very confident and strong swimmer, so is it people who aren’t good swimmers, or non-swimmers who end up drowning?
The only thing I can think is if they get stuck by underwater plants or something like that
LegendaryOate on
I’ll never forget the story of someone who drowned in Austria after they got cramp. That’s put me off swimming far out of anything
evenifihateit on
We probably need to get back to teaching through fear for things like this
There used to be adverts that terrified me as a child, and whilst that level of fear is not nice to experience it is an awful lot nicer than experiencing death
12 Comments
I remember all those scary ‘stay off the train tracks’ ‘stay off electricity’ adverts when I was younger. Even more modern ‘wear a seatbelt’ ones.
If this many people are dying, they should make new ones for swimming as well.
I said to my wife on Sunday morning “I bet about 5 kids die this weekend drowning in lakes and rivers” Turned out I was being wildly optimistic
Is this higher than normal during a heatwave? It feels much higher. I wonder what is causing this specifically. Is it related to the half term?
I can’t help but notice that more males than females are dying here.
[This](https://www.reddit.com/r/unitedkingdom/comments/1smg7pc/womens_voices_to_be_at_the_heart_of_renewed/oge50ko/) comment of mine was supposed to be of no value as well…
Does anyone know exactly why all these people died? They quote them encountering “difficulty” in the waters a few times, but what on Earth does that mean?
Did they not know how to swim?
Did they enter very cold waters and suffer hypothermia?
Were there currents that hindered their ability to swim to safety?
Did they suffer an injury playing with other kids?
Did they suffer an injury jumping into the water?
Did they encounter a blob like the Stephen King film?
Each of these, and many other options, present a very different risk, and simply saying “difficulty” only opens it up to speculation and general aversion to what is usually a very pleasant experience.
I wonder what they expect. The chances are small, but the number of people swimming is huge. Things happen. Teenagers can be reckless, and their risk assessment is often inadequate. Parents have only limited control over children of their age. Plus some level of negligence on top. Plus half term.
The cold shock thing is complete bullshit, these rivers and lakes are relatively warm; people in my town jump into the north sea and are fine. These kids just can’t swim or are getting snagged on fly-tipped rubbish.
Remember though, they want us to think climate change is a fringe concern and net zero ‘just isn’t realistic’.
Regardless of the awareness issues, I just feel so sorry for these kids and their families. What an awful way to go…I can only imagine the terror these poor children went through when they inhaled water and realised “this is it”. Nobody deserves that, no matter how foolish the initial action was.
As someone who grew up swimming in the local reservoir for years, both with my dad (who was a trained diving instructor) and with my friends, I’d love to know how these people keep dying.
Like, I’m not ignorant or anything, I’m aware of the dangers, but I’m also a very confident and strong swimmer, so is it people who aren’t good swimmers, or non-swimmers who end up drowning?
The only thing I can think is if they get stuck by underwater plants or something like that
I’ll never forget the story of someone who drowned in Austria after they got cramp. That’s put me off swimming far out of anything
We probably need to get back to teaching through fear for things like this
There used to be adverts that terrified me as a child, and whilst that level of fear is not nice to experience it is an awful lot nicer than experiencing death