More than 30 children die in pools

17th November 2009

ROYAL Life Saving has revealed horrific figures show 32 children under four died in preventable drowning tragedies in the past 12 months.

Royal Life Saving chief executive Rob Bradley said 59 per cent of the deaths were in swimming pools.

Mr Bradley said pools were potential death traps because of loose, unsafe fencing or fence gates that were not working properly.

“As part of the 2009 Keep Watch campaign, Royal Life Saving is urging all Australians to take action and put their home pool through a massive safety check,” Mr Bradley said.

“In the past 12 months toddler drowning deaths in Australia have risen dramatically against the five year average which is of enormous concern.”

Last week, two children were involved in drowning incidents within 24 hours, one in Newmarket and the other in Goodna.

Both children died. At Goodna Aquatic Centre last Monday, a five-year-old girl was pulled unconscious from a pool after she wandered away from her father.

Royal Life Saving said that of the 32 children who drowned in the past 12 months, 84 per cent fell or wandered into water and 41 per cent happened during summer. The Keep Watch campaign is supported by PoolWerx through its network of franchisees to help Royal Life Saving get the pool safety message across to Australians.