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Berlin (dpa) - With 50 drowned people, Lower Saxony is one of the federal states with the most fatal swimming accidents - only Bavaria recorded more last year (79).
This is based on figures from the German Life Saving Society (DLRG), which were published in Berlin on Tuesday.
«Rivers and lakes are still the greatest sources of danger.
Only comparatively few bodies of water are guarded by lifeguards ”, DLRG President Achim Haag is quoted in a message.
The fatal accidents on the beach sections of the North Sea and Baltic Sea therefore continued to decline compared to 2018 and 2019.
21 people died on the coasts between Borkum and Usedom - 6 of them in the North Sea.
Across Germany, at least 378 people drowned, nine percent less than in the previous year.
Many monthly numbers are down compared to the previous year, but there was a noticeably strong increase in August - from 45 in 2019 to 117.
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"Especially the hot summer weather in August invited people to spontaneous excursions to the inland waters and the beaches on the North and Baltic Seas," said Haag.
Because many people stayed in Germany because of the corona pandemic, the rush was sometimes very large.
Children and young people are also repeatedly affected.
18 children of preschool age and 5 of elementary school age died in the water.
"Here the already declining swimming ability of the children is certainly a cause, which the Corona year 2020 has unfortunately only made worse by long-term closed baths," explained Haag.
© dpa-infocom, dpa: 210309-99-747784 / 2
DLRG