A record 808 people died in bodies of water in Ukraine since the beginning of 2021, according to the State Emergency Service.
In July alone, 265 Ukrainians, including 36 children, suffered fatal accidents in the water. Five people drowned in the capital over the past weekend.
Most deaths resulted from failure to follow basic safety guidelines, such as not swimming in dangerous areas or while intoxicated.
“Given that 166 people died in the same period last year (16 of them were children), it is already possible to draw conclusions about the record fatal accident statistics on the water in the country this year,” the emergency service stated.
The service urged Ukrainians to be safe by only swimming on designated beaches, never diving in unfamiliar places, not leaving children unattended by the water, not swimming out too far and not swimming while intoxicated.
Ukrainians were also urged to stay away from boats while swimming, avoid water colder than 17 degrees Celsius and not swim during inclement weather.
Earlier, Kyiv authorities banned all swimming on Kyiv’s beaches, in light of the heavy pollution and algal blooms.
