| James Kon |
BEACHES in Brunei are renowned for their natural beauty but they are not free from hidden dangers. Many beachgoers lost lives in Brunei waters and the trend continues due to lack of effective safety systems at the beaches.
Drowning, which is the major cause of beach deaths in the country has taken 13 lives from 2013 to August 2017, with 2016 witnessing a record number of five fatalities.
According to Beach Bunch, a local non-governmental organisation (NGO) whose vision is to make better beaches and protect coastal wildlife, the number of drowning deaths per 100,000 people in Brunei stood at 1.18 in 2016 which is among the highest in the region. Majority of the drowning victims are youths and all are male.
Aimed at addressing the worrying rise in beach drowning incidents in the country, Beach Bunch, in association with the Co-Curriculum Education Department, recently held a talk on ‘Open Water Survival Awareness for Young People’ which was attended by more than 100 students from 15 secondary schools.
Held at the Sports School, the talk, delivered by the President of Beach Bunch Rizan Latif aimed to raise awareness of safety aspects at beaches.
“Lack of knowledge and disregard for sea conditions are the major causes of drowning. The solution is to educate and inform sea-goers about the hidden dangers. Uninformed or unrestricted access to the beach is another cause which can be prevented by providing effective warnings.”
He added, “Lack of supervision or surveillance is yet another cause and the solution is to extend life-saving services. And the last but not the least cause is inability to cope with a difficult situation and here the solution is to increase survival skills.”
As part of its efforts to promote a safer aquatic environment, Beach Bunch will also conduct sea survival course in December. The awareness programme is aimed at teaching young people key water safety and survival skills in order to instil a safe behaviour and confidence while around water, with the ultimate goal of reducing the number of drowning deaths among young people in Brunei.
As part of the course, students can attend two, 1.5-hour swimming sessions which will be held in December 2017 and January 2018 at Berakas Beach.
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