There has been a spate of deaths by drowning in recent days. Ever since the country opened after the third wave of Covid-19 faded away, people have been travelling in droves to various destinations in the country. And one of the highlights of most of these trips is a dip in the sea, in a waterway, tank or the cascades of a waterfall. Whole families enjoy this ritual.
But every so often, tragedy strikes. Water can be dangerous and unknown waterways especially so. Very recently an entire family of four perished as they were bathing in a tank. Sometimes, it does not matter whether you know how to swim or not, as water currents can be powerful enough to sweep you away or suck you under. The best advice is to avoid bathing in spots that are unfamiliar. Or ask the locals whether it is safe to bathe in such locations. Also, one must not wade too deep into the water.
Dangerous waterways
Local Government institutions too have a role to play. They should identify any dangerous waterways in their areas and put up boards warning people and tourists not to wade in. This way, many lives can be saved. Moreover, more lifeguards should be deployed near inland waterways.
They already do a good job of protecting those who bathe in the sea and have protected hundreds of lives over the years. The Government has also ensured swimming pool safety and hotels constructing new pools have to ensure that the maximum depth is only four or five feet. The deep end in pools must be clearly marked and warning signs placed, in case a non-swimmer plunges in. In any case, most hotels do have a lifeguard on duty, unlike the inland water bodies.
Several boat tragedies also occurred recently, resulting in a number of tragic deaths. Every time a boat overturns in rough seas or in an inland waterway and deaths occur, there is a public outcry for tighter regulations. The authorities too promise to do the same but over a period of time, everything is forgotten until the next tragedy occurs.
The simple fact is that these are tragedies waiting to happen due to the lackadaisical attitude towards safety regulations. The recent ferry incident in Kinniya where six persons died was easily preventable. An accident of this nature happens due to the cumulative effect of several mistakes that piled up on one another.
The first mistake was overloading. Every boat is designed to carry only a given number of passengers, but boat operators islandwide regularly board passengers over this limit. Overloading affects the very stability of the boat and is a recipe for disaster.
Sometimes they do not have the facilities of a normal passenger boat, such as seats and safety equipment, although all boats are now mandated by law to carry lifejackets and flotation devices.
People also use fishing and boats built for other purposes for leisure trips. There is a ground-based analogy – normal private buses are theoretically not supposed to operate “special tours” on hire, because they lack the creature comforts and sometimes the passenger insurance. There are a number of companies that provide licensed tour buses for such trips, but they are more expensive. Most people thus opt for the former which is arguably cheaper.
Boat trips
The same goes for boat trips. There are leisure tour boat operators who generally fulfill all safety requirements, but fishing boats are cheaper and easier to get. This is where the analogy ends - unlike the road, the sea or even a lake can be terribly unforgiving if you do not know how to swim. Even if you know how to swim, the conditions at the time of capsizing could make you drown.
Every time a boat accident happens, we hear that it did not have any safety gear on board. Every boat must have lifejackets and bigger vessels must have at least one lifeboat. The regulation is already in place, but implementation seems to be a problem. Other safety devices must also be carried on board, including flotation devices, rescue ropes and communications equipment.
Lifejackets save lives, period. How many more tragedies should happen before we realise this? Again, coming back to a road analogy, motorists now buckle up almost automatically because they know that seat belts save lives. In the same way, people should be wise enough to don a life jacket as soon as they board a boat. If any boat operator says, “no lifejackets”, just do not patronise his business and walk away. The Government should strictly enforce the lifejacket regulations at least now.
Stabilisers
The authorities should also insist on the installation of stabilisers on every new large fishing or leisure vessel. They literally help boats to be on an even keel and survive formidable waves. It is a somewhat expensive solution, but it can make a boat ride much more stable.
Safety gear can only do so much, if the human element fails. There is no reason at all to abandon safety precautions. Every traveller must know about safety precautions that should be followed in a boat ride. The media should also play a bigger role in raising awareness on safety in water, in terms of bathing in waterways and going on boat trips.
The licences of all operators who fail to adhere to safety guidelines must be cancelled. We can learn a few lessons from other countries on how they ensure the safety of boat passengers and waterway users.
In most countries, unsupervised bathing in inland waterways is a strict no-no. The public in these countries can use especially designated areas in some waterways for bathing and recreation, but these are manned by lifeguards.
Accidents do happen despite the best precautionary measures. It is vital to have a more organised search and rescue system to ensure that help is available fast if a maritime or inland boating accident occurs. All Police stations must also have a diving team as the nearest Navy team could be several hours away.
This could be crucial in a drowning accident. A holistic approach is needed to the whole issue, from regulations to rescue.