Spike in drownings in KZN raises concerns: Lifesaving SA

Lifesaving South Africa has confirmed that there have been 13 fatal drownings in the past week. The majority of these, 10, were in KwaZulu-Natal.

The organisation provides water safety and surf rescue services. The latest incident is that of a 23-year-old man from Limpopo who drowned at a beach in Umhlanga this week.

Lifesaving South Africa is not taking the recent spike in drownings in KwaZulu-Natal, lightly. The province has recorded the highest number of fatal drownings in the last week.

President of Lifesaving SA Dhaya Sewduth says there are fears that these numbers are likely to increase as the holiday season nears.

“So we already have 13 cases. So 10 of them have been in the ocean. There is one that has been at the hotel pool in South Coast. And one in a public pool in my bank. And one in our lake area. So it is a worrying trend that within a short period of time, there have been 13 fatal incidents of drowning.”

He says that the majority of these drownings are believed to have taken place at beaches that are restricted to bathers and are not patrolled by lifeguards.

“Cases that we have had in the ocean have been on beaches that are not patrolled by lifeguards. So they are not designated bathing areas. In the cases that we received in Cape Town over the weekend, there were three fatal drowning cases and cases of incident duty hours the beaches had already been closed. The lifeguards had already been picked up to work at the beach and had a long day at the beach and were after the duty hours.”

Lifeguards Thobani Nhlangalo and Mikaila Brown speak to the challenges of the job, especially during the festive period when there is a high influx of beachgoers.

“Normally it’s drunken swimmers and distressed swimmers as well but I will always advise people to come so minded. Sometimes to are overexcited and that puts us in the most difficult situation as lifeguards. And sometimes they don’t cooperate. As long as people cooperate all of that works in our favour.”

“Identifying those who are drowning can be difficult at times when the bathing area is so full in such a way that you can’t see people. But obviously, we take precautions to make sure that we can see people and that they do get rescued.”

Residents are urged to swim at the sheltered beaches between the flags where lifeguards are present.

Residents are urged to swim at protected beaches between the flags where lifeguards are present. Parents are also urged to supervise their children at all times.