Greece: 400 people died at sea in 2023

According to a report provided by the media, in 2023, 407 people died while swimming or participating in water sports and other water-based recreational activities.

For the fourth year now, Safe Water Sports has produced an annual report containing data on fatal accidents in the Greek water environment recorded by the accident supervisory board, as well as a comparative analysis of these in relation to the previous period (2019-2022).

400 people died at sea, which is 4% more than in 2022 (when 379 people died), and the remaining 7 people died in the country's inland waters (lakes, rivers, swimming pools). According to data analysis, 71% (288) of those killed were men.

It is noted that over the past five years (2019-2023), an average of 360 people die annually in the Greek aquatic environment while participating in recreational activities. A significant increase of 8% compared to 2022 is seen in deaths caused by inadequate/poor swimming. That's 373 of the 400 deaths in 2023.

Of the 400 deaths, 260 were due to drowning (65%), 25 due to pathological causes (6%), one due to a pleasure craft accident (FWSI), and 114 (29%) had an undetermined cause (forensic). medical report has not yet been completed). According to the average over the past four years (2019-2022), 58% of deaths are due to drowning, 10% due to pathological causes and 32% due to unknown causes.

The most important element of the study is that of the 400 fatal accidents, the majority (331) occurred in people over 60 years of age (83%), followed by 59 people aged 18-59 years, 5 children aged 0-17 years and 5 people of unknown age.

Although the sea is our country's natural habitat, data shows that Greeks, although a minority compared to foreign tourists (more than 34 million), lose the vast majority of their lives each year to fatal accidents in the water environment. In 2023, 272 Greeks (68%) and 124 foreigners died in Greek seas, and 4 victims were not identified.

It is noteworthy that the largest number of fatal accidents (14%) was recorded between 12:00 and 13:00. The second highest percentage of deaths (11%) was recorded during the periods from 10:00 to 11:00, from 11:00 to 12:00 and from 13:00 to 14:00.

Finally, the third highest percentage of fatal accidents occurred during hours when there are no rescuers, i.e. from 08:00 to 10:00 and from 20:00 to 24:00 – 8% respectively. It is worth noting that currently lifeguards are on duty on the beaches for 8 hours – from 10:00 to 18:00. 56% of fatal accidents (207) were recorded on beaches where there were no lifeguards.

The findings of the accident supervisory board were taken into account in the new Decree 71/2020 on lifeguard services on beaches, which was adopted in 2020 and entered into force in 2021, as a result of which the working hours of lifeguards on the beaches were extended by one hour (from 7 a.m. from 10:30 to 17:30, until 8 o'clock, from 10:00 to 18:00), with local competent authorities having the opportunity to further extend these hours.

There are even municipalities that have introduced such extensions of working hours. The most fatal accidents occurred in the municipality of Thermaikos, followed by the municipalities of Thassos, Varis-Voula-Vouliagmeni, Rhodes, Kos and Chalkideon.

In 2023, 580 beaches were required to have lifeguards. The total number of mandatory lifeguard positions (some beaches have several) was 876. As of the end of the summer season, the number of beaches on which lifeguards were assigned was 528, or 91%, and the number of lifeguard stations was 792, or 94%.

56% of fatal accidents (207) were recorded on beaches where there were no lifeguards, 32% (121) on beaches equipped with lifeguards during working hours, and finally 12% (45) on beaches equipped with lifeguards outside of lifeguard working hours. Thus, 68% of fatal accidents occurred on beaches not guarded by lifeguards. This fact demonstrates the enormous importance of providing lifeguards on beaches to reduce the number of drownings.

Of course, the report notes, Greece has 13,676 km of coastline. The beaches and places where you can enjoy swimming and active recreation are countless.

The Accident Observatory has created a registry of beaches that lists more than 3,400. The vast majority of them are popular beaches (organized and unorganized). For an incident (accident or injury) to be considered to have occurred on a particular listed beach, it must occur less than 1 km from the shore. At a distance of more than 1 km, the incident is considered to have occurred on the high seas and is not associated with a listed beach. Likewise, if an event occurs near a coastline but at a location that is not registered as a beach, it is not associated with a beach in the register.

A study of the data shows that 88% of fatal accidents occur less than 1 km from the coast and on a beach included in the register. Therefore, if we could somehow better protect and monitor the approximately 3,400 beaches included in the registry, we could significantly reduce the loss of life.

In terms of fatalities involving the use of a tool, there was one fatality in 2023 involving the use of a surfboard on the high seas. Also in 2023, there was 1 fatal injury caused by speedboating. This fact highlights the need for speedboat operators to exercise extreme caution as the risk to swimmers and passengers themselves is high. There were also eight cases of injuries during activities using a speedboat.

According to Safe Water Sports founder Panagiotis Pashalakis, the slight increase in fatal accidents compared to 2022 is due to two main reasons: a long-standing lack of culture and training in swimming, which has a huge impact on people over 60, and unregulated activities. such as swimming, on the unguarded part of the vast Greek coastline.

For people over 60 years of age, drowning occurs within seconds. “Given that the coastline is impossible and impractical to fully control, there is an immediate need to change the culture of citizens regarding maritime safety. Jumping from high cliffs into the open sea while alone or in a remote place is a very bad choice,” Pashalakis noted in conversation with K. “In addition, older people should be especially careful.”

On the issue of life-saving insurance, Mr Pashalakis notes: “In 2015, coverage was 50% and municipalities had a hard time complying with regulations. Today we have reached 92%. However, coverage below 100% should not be acceptable in such an important issue. We are glad to see municipalities that have agreed to increase the work hours of rescuers. We hope that others will do the same.”

The Safe Water Sports founder also points to positive changes such as the creation of the innovative LifeguardRescue app, which records real-time rescues and first aid provided by lifeguards on beaches. In 2023, the application operated on the beaches of 60 municipalities, where port authorities carried out 4,758 rescue operations. Of these, 1,005 operations were performed by swimming, jet ski or speedboat, and in the remaining 3,753 cases, first aid was provided, but without rescue, that is, using defibrillation, a cartridge or other medical equipment.

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