Citizen, 2 sons drown at Sawadi beach

A citizen and his two children drowned while his wife and another child were rescued in Sawadi beach near Barka in South Al Batinah Governorate on Thursday, according to the Civil Defence and Ambulance Authority (CDAA). In Dhofar, CDAA rescued a child of Gulf nationality from drowning in Ain Sahlanout, Salalah.

Speaking to the Observer, a senior official at the CDAA said that the family of five was swimming when the gruesome incident took place and that the CDAA acted immediately after getting an alert that the family, a couple and their three kids, have gone missing in the sea.

“Rescue teams and medical experts rushed to the scene when we received a call and the woman and her daughter were saved while the man and their two children drowned in Sawadi beach,” he said, adding, “The woman and a child have been rescued and they are in stable health condition.”

The official further said that there has been an increase in the number of drowning incidents and more than 500 such incidents were reported in Oman in 2021.

He added that the majority of the drowning incidents were reported during adverse weather conditions when people cross wadis or in vehicles which prove fatal to one’s own life as well as the life of others.

“Recklessness during the rains, ignoring warning signs at water bodies, ponds or swimming pools or sea and kids being unattended at the pools are major reasons behind the surging number of drowning incidents in the Sultanate of Oman.”

According to the World Health Organization (WHO) statistics, drowning deaths in Oman reached 211 or 1.42 per cent of total deaths and the age adjusted death rate is 4.91 per 100,000 of population ranking Oman #26 in the world.

The report further says that children under the age of 5 are at highest risk and these deaths are frequently linked to daily, routine activities, such as bathing, collecting water for domestic use, travelling over water on boats or ferries, and fishing. The impacts of seasonal or extreme weather events – including monsoons – are also a frequent cause of drowning and these impacts are largely preventable through a number of interventions.

The CDAA urged beachgoers to exercise extreme caution and observe safety rules and guidance and to keep an eye on their kids to avoid further drowning incidents.