Most drowning deaths are in Malaga Province

MALAGA is the Spanish province with the highest number of deaths by drowning registered this year.

A total of 17 people have died along Malaga’s coast so far this year, according to the Rescue and Lifeguarding Spanish Federation.

In national terms a total of 271 people have drowned in the country, 45 of whom lost their lives in Andalucia.

“With these negative results, we believe there should be a special regulation of safety measures and protocols to be followed in the whole of Spain,” said representatives of the federation, who stressed that as many as 300 died in 2014.

A report by the federation has analysed the main common points between the different cases, showing that a great number of them involved people over 45 years old, especially people between 65 and 74 years old, although they also stressed children below 10 have been common victims. In Andalucia, four children have died so far this year in coastal areas or pools.

As many as 57 per cent of cases registered in Andalucia happened on beaches and on 29 occasions, there was no surveillance or lifeguards in the area. Faced with these results, the federation has called for new regulations that included measures such as placing informative signs on dangerous water currents, rocky areas and other important descriptions, as well as carrying out awareness campaigns similar to those regarding traffic accidents.