Warning over pool drownings

A TASMANIAN drowning was one of 78 to occur in public and communal pools in the decade between 2005 and 2015.

Another 362 swimmers across the nation were hospitalised but saved during the same period.

A report from Royal Life Saving Society Australia found 36 of the 78 deaths occurred at public and commercial swimming pools while the rest were at communal facilities — those associated with hotels, motels, apartments and aged-residential facilities.

The society said key drowning risk factors in both locations were a lack of adult supervision, pre-existing medical conditions and a lack of swimming ability and water safety knowledge.

Chief executive of Royal Life Saving Society Australia Justin Scarr said the statistics highlighted the need for parents/carers to actively supervise their children around water even if lifeguards were present.

Children aged between five and nine accounted for the highest proportion of drowning deaths.