THE Fire and Rescue Department received a total of 1,595 distress calls related to drowning incidents for a period of five years, from 2018 to 2022.

The Fire Safety Division’s Building Safety Certification section head Nordin Pauzi said of that number, 1,341 emergency calls were for cases of drowning that resulted in death.

He said that on average, 268 drowning cases are recorded in any given year.

“This is a fairly big number – an average of 23 cases a month and this is based on statistics.

“Based on the same statistics, 89% of victims are men involved in drowning incidents that result in death,” he said when appearing as a guest on the Selamat Pagi Malaysia programme produced by Radio Televisyen Malaysia today.

Meanwhile, on World Drowning Prevention Day 2023, which is observed today, Nordin said this is to commemorate the importance of preventing drowning tragedies among people around the world.

He said today should be observed by the responsible authorities, including industry players such as the management of hotels that have pools and water theme parks.

“Take the opportunity today to review standard operating procedure to review safety equipment. At least we have one day to be careful or monitor things related to water safety,” he said. – Bernama, July 25, 2023.