26 cases of drowning since January

Some 26 cases of drowning have been recorded in the island since the start of the year. According to the police, 22 of the victims are males and four are females.

While the figures do not necessarily indicate that the victims were unable to swim, Jamaicans are being urged to learn to handle themselves in the water.

“A lot of people do not really understand how to use the water properly, and it’s not just about swimming. It’s about knowing what to do in an emergency with others,” Valencia Cowan, a representative from Swim Jamaica, told

A study done nearly a decade ago found

that roughly 75 per cent of Jamaicans could not swim.

Cowan is of the impression that many Jamaicans drown due to panic when they encounter difficulties in the water.

“The most important thing to do is do not panic ... If the person drowning is close enough, throw an object for them to grab on to. Do not jump in the water trying to save them if you are not a trained lifeguard,” she said.

The latest case of drowning was recorded in St Thomas on Sunday, after the body of a teenager was retrieved from the sea by two fishermen in the vicinity of the Morant Bay fishing village.

The boy has been identified as 17-year-old Ronaldo Livingston, a student of the Seaforth High School and the community of Johntown in the parish.

The police say about 2 o’clock yesterday afternoon, Livingston and his friends were swimming at the beach at the Morant Bay fishing village and he reportedly developed difficulties while in the water.

They say efforts to save him were unsuccessful and that his body disappeared.

Livingston’s drowning comes on the heels of another similar incident less than a month ago.

In that case, the body was a 12-year-old boy who was also fished from the sea a day after he was suspected to have drowned.