10 Australians dead in water accidents as water safety bodies urge caution through holidays

At least 10 people have died in water accidents around Australia over the Christmas period and lifesavers have pulled hundreds more from danger.

On Tuesday two girls aged 13 and 14 died when they hit a tree stump while being towed behind a boat on an inflatable at Tamworth in north-eastern NSW.

A five-year-old girl pulled from Lake Nagambie in central Victoria could not be revived, and authorities continued to search for a man who became submerged in the Murrumbidgee River at Wagga Wagga.

A scuba diver in his 60s was pulled unconscious from waters off Swansea, near Port Macquarie, on NSW’s mid north coast on Tuesday. Bystanders tried to help the man before paramedics arrived but he could not be saved.

Since the start of summer 16 people have drowned, according to interim reporting by Royal Life Saving Society - Australia, and the organisation fears that number may jump dramatically.

Royal Life Saving NSW Chief Executive, Michael Ilinsky told Guardian Australia "it’s a horrid scenario. We need to remind people to understand their own skills and watch the most vulnerable people. It’s a heightened danger time for us.”

Ilinsky advised that half of this summer’s deaths around the country so far occurred in inland waterways and almost a third were in coastal waters while one was in a back yard pool and another in a swimming pool

The national toll is trailing the record number of drownings last summer, when 145 people died, but Ilinsky said the mix of hot weather and poor swimming skills meant the risk would be heightened in the coming weeks.

He added "tthe worst issue is that in the last two to three years there has been a loss of 10 million swimming lessons (due to the pandemic).

“Lots of young people have been starved of water safety education. Lots of individuals who haven’t been in the water for a while are returning but their skills haven’t been kept up.”

A recent survey of 2,036 Australian parents by the Royal Children’s Hospital in Melbourne found one in six children aged between six months and 17 years had never had a swimming lesson.

Surf lifesavers in NSW have performed at least 630 rescues over the break and a call-out has been issued for more members to patrol beaches.

There have been 93 rescues in Victoria over the same period.

Life Saving Victoria Director, Kane Treloar implored people to heed warnings, adding "we understand that people want to come to the beach. It’s been a long time since we’ve had the opportunity to enjoy the waterways with our family.

“We’re asking people to think about their safety because we want to make sure everyone’s coming home at the end of the day.”

Image: A professional lifeguard in action on the NSW coast. Credit: Lake Macquarie Council.