Ecobreves – CUBA: Summertime Accidents

By IPS Correspondents and - - Reprint | | Print |

HAVANA, Aug 5 2006 (IPS) - The intense summer heat, vacations and the need to get into the Caribbean water wherever and however has sounded the alarm in Cuba, where drowning is the third leading cause of accidental death. “Most of the deaths do not occur in swimming areas, but rather in other areas not designated for that use,” Luis Enrique Calero, of the Cuban Red Cross, told Tierramérica.

“The drownings are almost always the result of violating safety rules and of neglecting to keep watch over minors. Men, especially adolescent males, are very vulnerable because they feel the need to prove the 'three Cs': courage, combativeness and creativity,” he added.

The lives saved by the aquatic safety service of the Red Cross reached 5,575 in 2005. In Cuba last year 282 people died from drowning, of which 255 were males.