More than usual vacations at home this year. And more will come to our beaches and streams for swimming. There are 15 bathing sites that are guarded by lifeguards in Sweden, but none of them are located on Sweden's east coast.

Mikael Olausson is responsible for safety issues at the Swedish Lifesaving Society, and he takes it seriously.

- We think it is strange and startling. The coast is long and lifeguards are needed there as well, he says.

More deaths than usual

So far this year, more than 40 people have died in drowning accidents in Sweden. 23 of them died in June, which is far more than last year when 10 people died.

June has been the worst month of the entire 2000s. We connect it with the fact that more people are at home, more people have time to go out. And we look at that with concern, says Mikael Olausson.

Lifeguards are paid either by the Swedish Lifesaving Society or by the municipality. In some places, lifeguards work voluntarily for food and shelter.

Can intervene directly

Sweden's most northern bathing area, which is guarded by lifeguards, is located at Askimsbadet in Gothenburg. Agnes von Essen is the team leader there and she believes that fewer people would drown if there were lifeguards in more places.

- The smallest thing that happens, we are there immediately. We are not men to call in, but we are always there. And we can see signs if someone is unsafe in the water, then we can go and talk to that person. We can also warn people who are going to go in and swim that there may be current in the water some days, she says.

"Municipalities should take greater responsibility"

Municipalities can claim that bathing areas and beaches are public places, which means that each person has their own responsibility for safety. But the Swedish Lifesaving Society believes that the baths should be counted as facilities, and that the municipalities should take greater safety responsibility.

- The municipalities have a legal connection to the bathing area, and then they need to do their homework. This applies, for example, to risk inventory and signage, and in the extreme situation, we believe that lifeguards are needed at several bathing sites, says Mikael Olausson.