Despite a downward trend for 2024, the number of drownings is worrying as there have already been 32 drownings since the start of the year, or 11 less than the same date last year.
The toll rose on Saturday after a kayaker tragically died after capsizing in the river Mata in Mauritius.
“In the last 10 years, we’ve had an average of 80 drownings a year in Quebec. […] Until now, we have pre-epidemic data, but the reality is that they are largely avoidable,” underlines Renault Hawkins, director general of the Quebec Rescue Association.
“If a life jacket was mandatory for every person on a boat, we would save 20 drownings a year for Quebec alone, because 9 out of 10 people don’t wear it or wear it incorrectly,” he adds.
Currently, by law, everyone on a boat must have a life jacket or personal flotation device (PFD). However, passengers are not required to wear it.
“Just because the weather is nice and I’m on a country road in a convertible doesn’t mean I won’t bend over. It’s the same with water,” says the general director.
A few tips
Mr. Hawkins also took advantage of 31’s releasee Edition of National Drowning Prevention Week in Quebec to provide some prevention tips. According to him, the most important thing is not to be alone when you find yourself in the water.
According to data provided by the Quebec Rescue Association, an average of 50.8% of incidents between 2020 and 2024 involved single people.
“One in two times, people are unaccompanied at the time of the incident, regardless of age, activity and gender. “Because they are alone, there is no one to contact the emergency services, try to rescue them or even explain what happened,” said Mr. Hawkins explains.
The latter recommends that bathers and water users ensure the supervision of children and, on a completely different note, that four out of ten drowning incidents should be extremely vigilant regarding the consumption of alcohol in which the victims have consumed alcohol.
“Due to dehydration caused by pounding waves and wind and sun, when you consume one glass of wine on a boat, it’s equivalent to three on dry land, it has a diuretic effect and affects reasoning. It’s important to be careful,” he concluded.
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