Being in the middle of summer, incidents of drownings among beachgoers at beaches across the country are increasingly rising, causing concern as many “destinations” are flooded with people.
Lifeguards sound the alarm bell for drownings
As Nikos Giovanidis, director of the Greek lifeguarding academy, emphasized: “There are quite a few incidents and far too many people don’t pay attention, they enter the sea without following safety rules. (…) The most important thing for a lifeguard is prevention, through observation, in order to reduce the chances of a drowning or accident happening in the sea”.
The numbers
The numbers reveal the magnitude of the problem. Specifically, so far, in 2025, 137 people have already lost their lives in the sea. The statistics follow:
- 63 confirmed drownings.
- 5 medical causes.
- 69 undetermined causes (awaiting reports).
- 86 Greeks.
- 51 foreigners.
- 31 people aged 18 to 59 years.
- 16 people aged 60 to 69 years.
- 89 people aged 70 and above.
- 1 person of unknown details.
As Mr. Giovanidis concluded: “Mobile phones are our first enemy in observation, which distracts our attention. The first job is to look after one another. Drownings happen in the first 6-7 meters of the sea”.
