Child fatalities in water bodies

We once again emphasize that the most important thing parents should remember is that children should not be left unattended near water. This is a rule that all adults must strictly follow. Unfortunately, young children left unattended by adults often drown in water:

On May 18, 2022, a tragic accident occurred in the village of Zamostochye, Dokshitsky district, Vitebsk region: a child drowned. According to preliminary data, a one-year-old girl was in the yard of the house with her relatives. After some time, the child disappeared from view. The parents rushed to search for her and found her in a body of water located behind the house. Resuscitation measures were unsuccessful. The girl could not be saved.

On June 28, 2022, a report was received about a drowned 8-year-old girl. The incident occurred on the Pripyat River near the village of Khvoensk, Zhytkavichy district, Gomel region. The mother was resting by the river with three minor children. When she went to the tent to put her son to bed, her daughters remained playing on the bank. After some time, the woman noticed that one of them was missing. Late in the evening, divers found the girl's body.

Another tragic accident occurred on the same day on the Ptich River near the village of Vasilki, Pukhovichi district, Minsk region. A 6-year-old boy was resting with his parents near the river. They were swimming, and the boy was wearing a life jacket. After some time, the child took off the life jacket, put on a swimming mask, and dived, after which he disappeared from view. The parents rushed to search and called rescuers. The child could not be saved. The child was not found on the surface of the water. Later, divers found the drowned boy at a distance of 6 meters from the shore.

On July 9, 2022, a 6-year-old girl drowned in a chalk quarry in the Volkovysk district, Grodno region. The child went to the quarry alone, which is located near her home. Entering the water, the little girl began to drown. A passerby found the girl at the bottom of the quarry. He reported this to law enforcement agencies. OSVOD employees recovered the girl's body from the water.

In the afternoon of July 7, 2022, a teenager drowned in a quarry on Naumova Street in Bobruisk, Mogilev Region. It was found that four children, siblings, went to swim in the quarry. Upon arriving at the quarry, the children went swimming. The 14-year-old boy swam about 5 meters from the shore and dived. He did not reappear on the surface. The children got scared and tried to find him but failed. A woman passing by heard the noise and shouts and called rescuers. Later, OSVOD employees found and recovered the drowned child from the water. He was found 3 meters from the shore at a depth of 3 meters.

Not only large bodies of water but also decorative ponds and even containers with water pose a danger, especially to small children. Only parents who are aware of the potential dangers and take them seriously, no matter how rare and unlikely they may seem, can protect their child from misfortune. When you are with children near water, you cannot lose vigilance for a minute: on April 5, 2021, an incident occurred in the village of Ugly, Novogrudok District, Grodno Region. A one-year-old boy drowned in a barrel of water. It was found that the child, who was one year and four months old, drowned in a barrel containing only about 30 centimeters of water. Paramedics arrived at the scene, but they could not revive the baby and pronounced him dead.

An accident occurred in the afternoon of April 8, 2023, in the Miory District of Vitebsk Region. A 5-year-old girl fell into a flooded basement of a residential building and died. Children were playing in the yard of a private house in the afternoon. At some point, the girl disappeared from view. The mother began to look for the child and found the girl's body in the flooded basement (the cellar was more than half full of water, and its depth is about 2 m). Important! Do not lose sight of children playing near water bodies. It is best if a child plays in the water with adults. Only then can you be completely sure of their safety. If you are not participating in the games, make sure the child is within your sight.

Inspector of the Department for Supervision of Labor Protection and Industrial Safety of the Miory District Department for Emergency Situations O.M. Girzha