Lessons from a tragedy

LAST week four people were hospitalised after they had been rescued from the water off Torquay.

Last month two teenage lifesavers saved the lives of two primary school-aged swimmers when they pulled them from a rip at Lorne.

In August, a man aged in his 50s drowned at Torquay beach.

As the weather improves, so too does the likelihood of swimmers finding themselves in life-threatening situations at our beaches.

Yesterday, everyone’s worst fears were realised with the first drowning of our summer season — the death of a man, believed to be in his 60s, who was scuba diving near Point Danger.

With so many near misses recently, followed by yesterday’s tragedy, there are very real fears among emergency workers and the surf life saving community about water safety this summer.

Last summer was the worst for drownings since records began 20 years ago. Life Saving Victoria’s most recent drowning report showed there were 26 drowning deaths over the past decade in the Geelong region, with 51 people hospitalised from local non-fatal drownings over the same period.

With so many rescues and incidents occurring during the current off-peak period, it is fair to fear what might lay ahead of us come summer and the school holidays.

This week’s incidents were eerily similar — both resuscitation attempts occurred at Torquay’s Fishermans Beach and CPR in both cases was applied by an off duty emergency worker who happened to be at the beach at the time. If not for these heroes, and the legions of volunteer lifesavers who guard our beaches every summer, the drowning toll would be much, much worse.

But we can’t always rely on dedicated volunteers or the fortune of a qualified bystander being on hand when we get into trouble. Whether it be by staying vigilant, educating ourselves about rips or only ever swimming at patrolled beaches, all of us bear some responsibility for reducing the death toll on our beaches.