Alarming balance: 18 drowned people in Austria 2025!
Alarming balance: 18 drowned people in Austria 2025!
in Austria, a country with numerous lakes and waterway, the risk of drowning becomes increasingly worrying. By July 20, 2025, at least 18 people have already lost their lives by drowning. This number is still below the previous year's level, but the annual average of the drowning cases from 2014 to 2023 amounts to 33 people, which indicates a persistent risk. According to the Board of Trustees for Road Safety (KFV), most people drown swimming, but there were also fatal accidents when diving, stand-up paddle board and kayaking.
compared the statistics, you can see that at least 22 drowned people were recorded in the same period of the previous year, while there were 39 victims throughout 2024, including three children up to 14 years. It is particularly alarming that drowning is the second most common cause of death in children's accidents, which underlines the need for effective prevention measures. On July 25th, the International World Day of Drinking Prevention is committed to draw attention to this serious problem.
Learn swimming as a prevention measureA central aspect of the problem is the swimming skills of the population. Around seven percent of the Austrian population from the age of five are not swimming, which corresponds to around 630,000 people. It is striking that around 137,000 children and adolescents aged five to 19 are. A KFV swimming competence study from 2025 shows that 23 percent of Austrians assess their swimming skills as (very) unsafe to mediocre.
Especially in the age group of over 50-year-olds, this proportion is 26 percent, while 76,000 young people between five and 19 years are classified as (very) unsafe swimmers. This arouses concern, especially since parents often misjudge their children's swimming skills. While 64 percent of the swimming skills by parents and 38 percent are conveyed by professional swimming courses, it is critical if children do not receive adequate swimming training.
critical influences and necessary measures
In the best case, learning swimming can start at the age of three, and an early start is strongly recommended. However, the Coronapandemia led to many children in the age group of ten to 14 years late or not at all had the opportunity to learn to swim, which now has a negative impact on their swimming skills. Another problem is the poor infrastructure, since about ten percent of the study participants have no access to swimming pools or bathing lakes. The KFV reports that around 13 percent of all families are considered "swimming -free". It is therefore of the utmost importance that a supervisor is always present near waters. Small children should always be kept within reach and larger children should be monitored within sight. Furthermore, it is advisable to name a responsible supervisor in several adults. The dangers from unsecured waters such as pools or ponds should not be underestimated. In addition, bright bathing clothes can increase visibility and thus help in emergencies. In conclusion, it should be noted that the challenges that the drowning accidents bring with them must be addressed by preventive measures and targeted information as well as by expanding swimming infrastructure. In Germany, where at least 411 fatal accidents in waters were recorded in 2023, a similar tendency shows that there is also a need for action here. The German Lebens-Rettungs-Gesellschaft (DLRG) has determined an increase in the drowned persons, which makes the transfer of measures to Austria seem all the more important.For detailed information and statistics on drowning accidents you can report the reports from Exxpress.at and and Dlrg
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| Ort | Österreich |
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