The death of a 61 -year -old woman early in the afternoon of Thursday by drowning on the beach of Les Deves of Vinaròs elevates 22 The number of deaths in aquatic spaces this July in the Valencian Communitywhat places it as the autonomy that leads that dramatic list during this month. In fact, the beaches and Valencian pools have registered almost double deaths In this July that the following communities in that ranking: in Catalonia there have been 13 and in Andalusia, 12. The fourth position is occupied by Galicia with eight people who died in this time space.
They are very worrying data, which collects the National Drowning Report (INA) And that says that, from the January 1, this 2025, there are 300 people that have lost their lives throughout Spain in drowning in the different aquatic spaces: marine beaches, river, rivers, swamps, lakes and swimming pools, both private and public. 90 of those 300 fatalities, that is, practically The third part, have occurred in July, That, together with August, they suppose the highest peaks for obvious reasons, since it is during the summer when more bathrooms and dives are recorded.
A death by drowning every 34 hours
With regard to the figures of the Valencian Community, the 22 deaths of July throw two very worrying figures: that one in four lethal drowning occurred in Valencian aquatic spaces and that, on average, there were A death for this cause every 34 hours.
That the Valencian Community occupies that dreary position is not something new. Already last year the alarms were fired when a chained series of deaths occurred in a very short time, with July as the month in which the Valencian territory led the macabre list of mortal drowning. Thus, the seventh month of 2024 closed with 89 deaths throughout Spain, with the Valencian Community at the head with 16 deaths.
In other words, although the Valencian territory already led that ranking last year, he did it with 16 fatalities, Six less than those registered in July 2025. And there is no equally significant or parallel increase in the number of visitors who have reached our coasts -the vast majority of drowning deaths are recorded in the sea beaches -so there is not only concern, but the need to know what is the reason for that increase beyond the consolidated “is a land that receives many tourists in the summer.”
Why and how to prevent
One of the keys lies in the number of lifeguard professionals that is hired, in how many bathrooms there is that service and for how long, the day and throughout the season. Without going any further, the last victim in Valencian territory, that 61 -year -old woman, neighbor of Ulldecona (Tarragona): she was found floating in Les Devesses de Vinaròs, a lonely and without surveillance beach.
The increase in fatal victims due to drowning has led to the Generalitat Valenciana to launch an awareness campaignwith special emphasis in the case of minors because, although it is true that the vast majority of deaths occur in the group of bathers over 55 years, it is also that every year Life a number of babies and young children loses their lives.
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