A child who was playing ... A series of irrigation accidents To protect life, November 27, 18:00

An “irrigation channel accident” in which more than 2,000 people were killed and injured nationwide in the last year alone.
“I want to reduce accidents as much as possible”. NHK has been reporting on TV and the Internet since November last year about the dangers and countermeasures lurking nearby, and has received many responses. Most of them are voices seeking countermeasures to prevent child accidents.
In April, in Gifu Prefecture, a boy from the third grade of elementary school fell into an irrigation channel and was washed about 150 meters away. In Tochigi Prefecture, a 5-year-old boy fell to a waterway and died in May.
How should we prevent accidents of successive children?
(Toyama Broadcasting Station reporter Mari Saeki)

I can't forget about suffering

In May, a 3-year-old boy fell down into a irrigation channel in Funagata, Yamagata Prefecture.
It was an accident that happened while heading to the rice field with his father preparing for rice planting and playing alone around a light truck that had been parked nearby.

Mr. Ryosuke Naganuma (33), who was farming in the neighboring rice field, noticed that the boy was gone and yelled out loudly and immediately informed his father.

"I thought it was washed away because I saw a car next to the irrigation channel and was playing nearby."

The irrigation channel is 70 cm wide and the water depth is 60 cm.
Before the rice planting, there was a lot of water and the flow was fast.
There are many winding spots and narrow shadows, but the boy was swept over about 700 meters.
The father found a place where he stopped at a place where it was just a street.
Fortunately, I was transported to the hospital and saved my life.

Mr. Ryosuke Naganuma “The boy was full of scars on his face and body, swollen with a lot of water, and he was so groaning that he was very painful.

Keep an eye on your children

Mr. Naganuma was commended by the local police station half a month after the accident for quickly discovering that he was unable to see the boy and helping him to rescue him quickly.

Mr. Ryosuke Naganuma “The irrigation channel was in a familiar sight, and I had never been conscious of it before, but my consciousness changed a lot. Especially for children, it was very dangerous and everyone looked together. I think the most important thing is to create a situation where you don't let go. ''

The voices for which countermeasures are requested

NHK has reported on TV and the Internet about the dangers and damage caused by irrigation canals.
There are calls for measures to prevent children's accidents.

A woman in Toyama Prefecture “There is a narrow and deep irrigation channel right next to my house. There are many young children in the neighborhood, including my home, so it ’s not weird when a fall accident happens.”

A woman in Gunma Prefecture “When my son was riding a bicycle on a narrow school road, he lost his balance to pass the car and fell to a irrigation canal.

The neighborhood association has its own measures “I want to keep my children safe”

To prevent such child accidents, Toyama Prefecture, where there are many irrigation channel accidents, has some areas that are working on irrigation channels.

About 5 years ago in Fuse-cho Minami, Toyama City, an elementary school student who went to school fell to a irrigation canal from a place without a fence to try to avoid a car. Although it was not important, Kenji Takamori, who served as the chairman of the town for many years, felt a strong sense of crisis that a similar accident might occur again.

“The school road is right next to the irrigation canal, and there are children who can walk around and walk around.”

Takamori, who felt that measures to protect children were necessary, appealed to the local self-government promotion association to request the administration.
However, the dangers of irrigation channels that were familiar to the local community were not shared, and requests were not communicated to the government.

So, if you just want to do what you can do, you can get around 70,000 yen from the local association fee and install 12 signs. I'm standing on my way to school and continuing to call attention to my children.

Mr. Kenji Takamori “I set up a signboard to encourage attention. At least children are treasures and assets. I want to protect my children safely and have no accidents.”

Why are children dangerous?

Prof. Hidetoshi Saito, Nagaoka University of Technology, who is familiar with water accidents, points out two points about the danger of children's accidents.

(1) Children who cannot recognize the danger are very curious and may fall when they are playing in the water without thinking that it is dangerous.

(2) Children who are light in weight and weak in weight are lighter than adults, so if they fall, they are easily washed away.
Even if it ’s fun, it ’s difficult to resist the flow because of weak hand and foot strength, making it difficult to get out.

Need to recognize risks like traffic accidents

Accident risk unique to children. In order to prevent, it is necessary to take measures tailored to the age group from babies to junior high school students.

For example, it is particularly difficult for preschoolers to judge the risk by themselves, and they often move around the house, so it is most important that parents who live together keep an eye on them.

On the other hand, if you become an elementary school student or older, you can walk and go to school or play with friends after school.
It is effective to take hard measures such as extracting dangerous places on the school road and installing fences and lids on a priority basis.
If there are many dangerous places, it is also necessary to review the school route and, if possible, to consider a new route that avoids the irrigation channel.

In addition, there are measures that can be taken without incurring significant costs.
It is important for children to be aware of the dangers, such as safety education that teaches the dangers of irrigation canals at elementary schools, and the danger spots of irrigation canals as “miss maps”.

As with traffic accidents, we must start with our adults recognizing that irrigation can be a major risk for children.

News post

We want to continue to report on the “canal accident”. We look forward to providing you with information.