Skip to playerSkip to main content
  • 7 weeks ago
It's been a deadly start to the new year with Surf Life Saving resources stretched along the New South Wales coast following a surge in emergencies and drownings. Crews have responded to dozens of incidents in just days as millions flock to the beach. With another hot week forecast, officials are urging beachgoers to rethink where and how they swim.

Category

📺
TV
Transcript
00:00It's a critical tool to saving a life.
00:06It's really important that there's two in there, one for the person being rescued and
00:11one for the rescuer.
00:13People are going to those remote locations and they're unprepared for what may happen.
00:18They're not checking whether they have mobile coverage.
00:22Timely advice given every drowning this year has occurred at an unpatrolled location.
00:27This summer, there have been ten drownings along the coast, seven of them just in the
00:32last four days.
00:34It marks the second deadliest summer in a decade.
00:38It's just not feasible to have a lifesaver or a lifeguard on every beach up and down the
00:43New South Wales coastline.
00:44Since Christmas Day, more than 1.1 million people have visited the state's coastline,
00:49prompting surf lifesavers to carry out around 200 rescues.
00:53We do have the resources but we can't be everywhere for everyone and that's why we
00:58really need people to understand this warning that the patrol locations is the most safest
01:03locations that you can swim at.
01:07New technology is helping but uptake is slow.
01:10I think preventative actions are the best and there is a lot of technologies but how is
01:15that rolling out right now that people can get early warnings and recommendations on when
01:20to swim I think would certainly be a step that needs to be taken.
01:25Surf Lifesaving, what is your emergency?
01:27Surf Lifesaving is working on installing more emergency response beacons.
01:32We've installed 72 of these and these are touch point alarms at locations where there's
01:36no lifesavers there.
01:37New technology may help but officials warn there's still no substitute for swimming at a patrolled
01:43beach.
01:45And let's do it.
01:46.
01:50We're going to burn our nose.
01:51.
01:51.
01:52We're going to burn our nose.
01:53.
01:54We're going to burn our nose.
01:57.
01:59.
Comments

Recommended