Eight people died in the waters of the Vitebsk region last week

July 18, Vitebsk / Sergei Kochetov - BELTA/. Eight people died in the waters of the Vitebsk region over the past week, and another nine citizens, including one child, were rescued by OSVOD specialists. This was reported to a BELTA correspondent by Vyacheslav Vanenok, a leading specialist of the regional OSVOD organization.

In the Miory district, a 16-year-old student of the Dolginovo Secondary School became a victim of drowning. The tragedy occurred on the Western Dvina River in the place where it separates the village of Sloboda in the Miory district and the district center of the neighboring Verkhnedvinsk district. As established, the girl, along with two friends, decided to get from Sloboda to Verkhnedvinsk by the shortest route - swimming across the Western Dvina, while the girls went into the water fully clothed. At some point, the teenager disappeared from the surface of the river, and later her body was found.

Drowning while intoxicated remains one of the main causes of tragedies on the water. Over the past week alone, 4 people drowned for this reason.

According to operational data, a total of 73 people (including 8 children) have drowned in the region's waters since the beginning of the year, which is 35.6% less than in the same period of 2010, while 38 people drowned in the region during the same week of 2010.

Hot weather requires increased vigilance and adequate behavior at water bodies, and a complete refusal to consume alcohol when relaxing by the water, OSVOD specialists remind. In such weather, the ban on swimming in unequipped places becomes particularly relevant. Parents should pay more attention to children, especially when relaxing on large rivers, where strong currents pose an increased danger to young swimmers who are not yet able to adequately assess their strength. -0-