Aid organizations
DLRG rescues 870 people from the water
DLRG rescued 870 people from the water in 2023. photo
© Christoph Reichwein/dpa
Swimming in the sea, lakes and rivers is dangerous. In 2023, DLRG lifeguards rescued more people from the water than ever before. There is something that worries them.
The lifeguards of the Last year, DLRG saved a particularly large number of people from drowning. However, they were unable to help at least 378 people – they drowned.
In 2023, 870 people were rescued from the water – after 836 a year earlier, said the German Life Saving Society based in Bad Nenndorf in Potsdam, Lower Saxony. The last time more people were saved from drowning was in 1983, when there were 1,100.
“We saved significantly more people than there were drowned people,” said DLRG President Ute Vogt. In total, the helpers saved 1,120 people’s lives – including cases of cardiovascular disease or heart attacks on and off the beach. A year earlier there were 1,307.
Most life-savings in Baden-Württemberg
In February, the DLRG announced that 378 people drowned last year – in 2022 there were still 355 fatal swimming accidents. According to its own information, the German Life Saving Society is the largest water rescue organization in the world – and the number one in swimming and lifesaving training in Germany. The lifesavers have over 607,000 members. Almost half of them are children and young people up to 18 years old.
The most lives saved last year were in Baden-Württemberg – 185 people’s lives were saved there. Behind them was Schleswig-Holstein with 146 life saves, ahead of Bavaria (132) and Lower Saxony (125). Most lifeguards were deployed in North Rhine-Westphalia (9,828), followed by Lower Saxony (9,438) and Baden-Württemberg (8,017).
The water rescuers were in demand in many difficult situations – they provided around 61,000 aids to children, young people and adults nationwide. In another almost 4,000 cases, they secured capsized sailing boats or helped animals in distress. The lifesavers were deployed in more than 1,200 swimming pools and in over 1,100 open waters, including many beaches on the North and Baltic Seas.
Lack of staff and unguarded waters
“But the truth is that many swimming pools are complaining about a lack of staff, many bodies of water are still unguarded and volunteers are now able to devote less time to their voluntary work,” warned Vogt.
On the German coasts alone, between the beginning of May and the end of September 2023, around 6,000 DLRG lifeguards made sure that people could swim safely. “The coast itself is safe,” said Achim Wiese from the DLRG Federal Association. Almost 49,000 lifeguards were on duty nationwide – a good 15 percent more than the year before.
“The signs are also good for the upcoming bathing season,” emphasized Vogt. Because: Many lifeguards were trained last year. There were 45,525 successful exams for the silver lifeguard badge; in 2022 there were only 43,304. This means that more people have acquired the qualifications required for swimming supervision than in ten years, said Vogt. There was also a long-standing high for the children who started training to become lifeguards with the Junior Rescuer badge – last year there were 8,459.
DLRG calls for more support
The DLRG called for more support for its work: “Our emergency services have once again shown in flood operations over the turn of the year that they can be relied on in disaster situations,” said Vogt. “However, their value is still not sufficiently recognized by the public sector.” In Lower Saxony alone, more than 1,500 DLRG water rescuers were involved across the state, securing dikes on the Aller, Leine and other rivers.
The association had previously complained about the unequal treatment of state and private helpers: Accordingly, volunteers from aid organizations, unlike volunteers from fire departments and technical relief organizations, do not always have the necessary insurance coverage and no right to exemption from their employer.
The association also called for more commitment at all political levels to preserve the pools in Germany. At least one in five primary schools cannot offer swimming lessons due to the lack of an accessible swimming pool, criticized Vogt. “A good half of the bathroom needs to be renovated. You can easily imagine how quickly the problem can become even bigger,” she said.
The majority of children are unlikely to be able to swim safely even at the end of primary school, according to the DLRG. After all, the effects of the corona pandemic are no longer noticeable in swimming training; last year the examiners awarded almost 95,000 swimming badges – 20 percent more than the year before.