Bahrain witnesses yet another swimming pool death

TDT | Manama                                                                         

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

Staff Reporter

One more pool accident death was reported yesterday despite strict warning and call to implement safety measures from the part of authorities. The deceased was identified as 38-year-old Indian national Sachin Samuel Valappil, and the accident occurred at a pool attached to the accommodation facility in Tubli.

Sachin Samuel was working for a leading private insurer in Bahrain. His immediate survivors include wife Bincy and children Athen Sachin and Relen Sachin. The Water Safety Benchmarking Survey conducted by Royal Life Saving Bahrain (RLSB) earlier showed that less than half of the children in the Kingdom don’t know how to swim.

This trend is attributed to limited opportunities to learn basic swimming skills in the Kingdom. The Water Safety Strategy was developed in the Kingdom for promoting safe enjoyment of water, building cohesive communities, enabling economic development and saving lives.

“Safety needs to be improved across private pools with licence and without licence. We lose many lives to drowning and have a limited focus on monitoring and analysing drowning and injuries. “People should have a minimal understanding about how to be safe in, on and around water. They should have first aid knowledge for dealing with emergencies. Our public beaches have no lifeguard services or safety measures and hotels lack a standardised approach to managing safety in swimming pools and at beaches.”

RLSB is the nation’s peak aquatic authority in drowning prevention and water safety. It works with communities, institutions and the local leisure industry to educate and advocate a safer aquatic environment for residents and tourists in line with international standards.

The General Directorate of Civil Defence frequently holds swimming pool safety awareness campaigns for all governorates. It also carries out inspections of pools to enhance awareness of safety rules and conditions. The Directorate has been regularly alerting the public to be careful by following safety steps at pools and resorts and avoid leaving children unattended.