Residents of Greece over 60 years of age will be notified through SMS (text) and IDIKA platform messages of a Ministry of Health campaign to prevent accidental drowning, as the summer season begins, said Health Minister Adonis Georgiadis on Tuesday.
At a press conference with Safe Water Sports organization, Georgiadis said that “of 378 people dying at Greek seas from drowning, 80% are over 60 years of age. Even if we manage to save a single person with this campaing, it will be a success for us.” Intervention includes adding more lifeguards at popular beaches and posting all necessary information for safe swimming.
Safe Water Sports president Panagiotis Paschalakis noted that most people over 60 years old learned to swim on their own, while the emphasis at present is on younger generations acquiring proper swimming skills in cooperation with the Education Ministry.
Safe Water Sports carries out awareness campaigns and promotes actions to reinforce safety issues.
According to its site, “Greece is ranked 11th globally in the list of countries with the longest coastline (13,676 kilometers). Each year 50,000 European citizens are injured while doing water sports, whereas in our country, 325 deaths occur each year in the sea. Drowning is considered as the second leading cause of accidental death for children 1-14 years of age.”
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