BORDER residents are being urged to stay sober when enjoying waterways this long weekend with new figures showing 51 Australians have drowned this summer.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The Royal Life Saving Society Australia figures also show there have been 33 near-drownings. In many of those people have had to be resuscitated.
Keen Murray River user Tony Zerbst — who has been the face of an Albury Council water safety campaign since 2010 — said those who drink while floating down the river were at great risk.
“People tend to float down the river on Australia Day and take copious quantities of alcohol with them,” he said.
“There are so many people on the river and so many of them are drinking. It’s a really bad combination.”
Mr Zerbst said while the river was quite safe if people were cautious, were more likely to take risks when drinking.
“There’s a lot of fun to be had, provided you can swim and you’re careful,” he said.
“There’s no reason why it should be particularly dangerous.”
Lavington man Roger Bradney fell from a boat in December and drowned while fishing in the Murray River at Bungowannah.
Melbourne man Marty Humphreys drowned this month swimming at Lake Mulwala.
Albury and Border Rescue Squad deputy captain Paul Marshall said the squad was on call for any incidents.
“If you have too much alcohol, it increases the risk of something bad happening,” he said.
“We encourage everyone to have a good time but to drink in moderation, especially if you’re going to be on the river, waterways or roads.
Royal Life Saving chief Justin Scarr said parents also needed to be cautious around portable swimming pools and keep a close watch on their children as they enjoyed the water.
