Safety Turtle

	NEWSFLASHES
	Parents Distraught As Seven-Month-Old Baby Drowns in Pool At Xanadu Home Thursday, 13 November 2008 By Cynthia Dreyer A grief stricken young mother and father are trying to come to terms with the death of their seven -month-old baby girl, Cara, by drowning on Monday afternoon. Mr Anton Gerber of NECSA Emergency Services told MadibengPulse on Tuesday that the Security personnel at Xanadu had telephoned them for an ambulance to come to the scene. On the way there, they were told that there was a baby who had been found in the pool of a home at the luxury estate. “When we got there, Dr Robbertse was already there, and the baby was already dead. It looked as if she had been in the water for a while,” he told Madibeng Pulse. He said that the pool was inside the house, and that there was no net on it. “The baby had been left in the care of a nanny, and she was so distraught that she initially tried to drink bleach to end her life.” Read more….

	Warning on child drownings 29th September 2008 By Sherlissa Peters Summer’s arrival brings with it a stern warning to parents from advocacy group Childsafe, which says that as temperatures rise, so too do the number of pool and sea drownings among children. Statistics from Childsafe, the country’s largest advocacy group for child accident prevention, revealed that accidental trauma killed more than 20 children a day between four and 15 years of age in South Africa. A double tragedy struck an Umhlanga family on September 23, when two-year-old twins, Nandile and Landile Shange, drowned in the pool at their home. It is unclear how the twins managed to sneak out of the house. Both were pronounced dead at the scene by paramedics. “For those of us whose lives have not been touched by the tragedy of a child accident, it is difficult to understand the turmoil associated with it. Yet, when this happens entire families are caught up in the loss, with feelings of guilt and a sense of failure – all because of one careless incident,” said Prof Sebastian van As, the national president of Childsafe. On swimming pools, van As recommends adult supervision at all times and that gates are secured on pool fences. An alarm system attached to the gate is also a valuable tool. Drowning is listed as one of the leading causes of unnatural death among children in South Africa, according to Netcare 911.

	Twins drown in pool tragedy 23rd September 2008 Two girls, twin sisters aged two, drowned in the pool of their Durban home while in the care of their grandmother on Tuesday afternoon, police said. Superintendent Vincent Mdunge said the two-year-olds managed to escape the attention of their grandmother and the domestic servant. After it was noticed they were missing, they were found floating in the swimming pool of their Durban North home. Netcare 911 spokesperson, Chris Botha, said that “despite a massive effort” paramedics had been unable to resuscitate the toddlers. Mdunge said an inquest docket had been opened. Sapa

	Drownings a major concern 8th July 2008 By Bongani Masango Drowning is listed as one of the leading causes of unnatural death among children in South Africa, according to Netcare 911. Gauteng has the highest number of drownings/near drownings, and the majority of these happen in unprotected pools. On Sunday, a 3-year-old boy was found floating in a swimming pool in Olivedale, Randburg. This was the fifth drowning incident in Gauteng. Three of these were fatal. Mark Stokoe of Netcare 911 warned that a water depth of just a few millimetres could be fatal to a small child. "Parents and child minders need to be aware of all water hazards in and around the home, including swimming pools," he said. Johannesburg Emergency Management Services spokesperson Percy Morokane said parents need to be very vigilant. "Water is life, and if not respected, it can be a killer," he said. He said JEMS would engage in a water safety programme called PIER (Public Information, Education and Relations) to educate Johannesburg residents and pupils about water safety. Netcare 911 and JEMS say parents must make sure that the three fundamental safety standards are in place: · The pool must be covered with a certified pool net. · The pool gates should be locked; and · Ensure there are splash censors that trigger an alarm when a splash is detected.

	Joburg boy drowns in pool Wednesday, 14th May 2008 A five-year-old boy drowned in a swimming pool at a house in Athol, Johannesburg on Tuesday, ER24 paramedics said. Spokesperson Riana Beech said a gardener found the boy floating in the pool at 1pm. Paramedics tried to resuscitate the boy, but he was declared dead at the scene. The pool was secured by a fence and gate, but it was not covered. It is believed the boy gained access to the pool through the house. Beech said the boy was visiting close relatives and his aunt was in the house when he fell into the pool. Sapa

	Drownings a cause for concern 24th December 2007 Johannesburg - Gauteng Local Government MEC, Qedani Mahlangu, on Monday expressed concern about the number of drownings in the province. She said more people drowned in Gauteng than at the coast. Most of those who drowned, died in private pools rather than in dams, lakes, streams and rivers.

	Birthday ends tragically for young boy 21st December 2007 A 4-year-old boy has drowned in a residential pool in Germiston today. The boy, who was celebrating his birthday, was found floating in the unprotected swimming pool. Netcare 911 spokesperson Nick Dollman says it is not known how long the child was in the water before his body was discovered. He says there were no signs of life and the child was declared dead at the scene. Netcare 911 has attended to nearly 50 drowning or near drowning incidents in Gauteng since the beginning of spring 2007. – Sapa

	Sisters 5, 10, drown in pool 18th December 2007 Johannesburg - Two sisters drowned in a swimming pool in Midrand around lunchtime on Tuesday, Johannesburg Emergency Services said. Spokesperson Chief Superintendent Malcolm Midgley said attempts to revive the first girl, around five-years-old, failed. Her 10-year-old sister was taken to Johannesburg hospital. The incident happened at a swimming pool in a housing complex, Midgley said.

	Swimming pools claim 2 kids 16th December 2007 Johannesburg - Two children drowned in swimming pools at their homes in Gauteng over the weekend, paramedics said on Sunday. Netcare 911 spokesperson Nick Dollman said in the first incident an 18-month-old girl drowned in Linmeyer Park, Johannesburg, on Saturday. "... Paramedics found her in a critical condition and she was placed onto emergency life-support while paramedics attempted to resuscitate while transporting her to the NetCare Union hospital," said Dollman. The attending doctor at the hospital stopped attempts to resuscitate her after 10 minutes and she was declared dead. In the second incident a five-year-old girl drowned at her home in Vanderbijlpark around 16:00 on Saturday. The girl was found in a half empty and unprotected swimming pool that was in the process of being drained. Efforts to resuscitate her failed, said Dollman. He appealed to the public to take the necessary safety precautions as well as to constantly supervise children around water to guard against "preventable tragedies".

	Pretoria toddler drowns in pool 28th Nov 2007 A 17-month-old child drowned in an unprotected swimming pool at her home in Pretoria North, Gauteng emergency services said. Netcare 911 spokesperson Nick Dollman said paramedics responded to a call of a child drowning in a swimming pool at about 16:20. "We initiated a full resuscitation, placed her onto emergency life support, administered medical drugs as well as CPR," said Dollman. Despite efforts by the paramedics the child died at the scene. Dollman said paramedics were told that the pool was unprotected because the family recently moved into the house."Today's incident should act as a strong warning to all parents that all the necessary safety precautions should be taken at all times to prevent these kinds of tragedies." Drownings are listed as one of the chief causes of unnatural deaths of children in South Africa. Netcare had attended to 33 drowning or near drowning incidents in Gauteng since the beginning of spring, Dollman said.

	'He said he'd put up a fence' 29th October 2007 Johannesburg - Her daughter would have turned three on Monday if the owner of the rented house had just fenced in the pool. This was the opinion of Chantel van der Westhuizen, whose daughter Denise drowned on October 16. "When we moved into the house in Selectionpark in Springs in September last year, we had a verbal agreement with the owner to provide security for the swimming pool." Van der Westhuizen also sent him a fax, requesting that he put up a fence around the pool.

	Springs toddler almost drowns in public pool 11th August 2007 A 3 year-old boy was in a serious condition after almost drowning this afternoon, at a public pool in Springs, East of Johannesburg, paramedics said. Netcare 911 spokesperson, Mark Stokoe, said the boy was found submerged below the surface of the water. "It was only a minute or two before his disappearance was noted. "He was then rescued by a family member who dived into the pool -- the boy had no pulse and was not breathing." Stokoe said the boy's father administered CPR and a family friend who was a Netcare 911 paramedic was then called in and started a full resuscitation protocol. "The patient was intubated and manually ventilated, CPR continued until it was confirmed that there was a pulse." He was then airlifted to Grand Central Airport to Springs. Stokoe said it was still too early to predict any kind of outcome regarding his progress at this stage. - Sapa

	Jhb bid to keep pools covered 15th February 2007 Johannesburg - A city by-law that would compel residents to cover swimming pools was in the pipeline, said the City of Johannesburg on Thursday. Spokesperson Nthatisi Modingoane said at least 55 people had drowned in and around Johannesburg between September 1 last year and February 14 this year. Emergency service's spokesperson Malcolm Midgely said that pools, public and private, had been the scene of many of the drownings. Midgely was now working on a proposal for the new by-law to ensure all pools in the city were covered.

	Toddler drowns in swimming pool 2nd October 2006 A three-year-old boy drowned in a murky swimming pool in Johannesburg north, emergency services spokesperson Malcolm Midgley said on Monday. The child was in the care of his grandmother while his parents were away and fell into the swimming pool after wandering outside on Monday morning. The grandmother panicked and contacted emergency services when she could not find the child, but had not seen him in the swimming pool. According to Midgley paramedics failed to resuscitate the child. "After 25 minutes of intense attempts to resuscitate the boy, trying every drug and every method possible paramedics declared him dead on the scene," he said. It is unclear how long the boy was in the water before he was discovered. According to Midgley the summer season usually brings with it an increase in drownings, especially in children. "Children are attracted to water and two minutes is all it takes, the only way to prevent drowning is to create awareness about water safety," he said. Emergency services have stepped up their awareness campaigns as the warm season commences. The majority of swimming pools on private properties were not protected by nets or fences, which was a major concern, Midgley said. According to a report compiled for the National Sea Rescue Institute (NSRI) by the Medical Research Council (MRC) last year, the large number of drownings occurring at private homes was a major concern. - Sapa

	Girl, 6, drowns in pool 2nd February 2006 Johannesburg - A six-year-old girl drowned on Wednesday in the pool of her home in Cresslawn north-east of Johannesburg, North Rand police said. Superintendent Eugene Opperman said a man locked his house and ordered his two children not to go outside when he went shopping. It appeared that the two girls got out through a window while their elder brother was watching television. He went to look for them after noticing their absence and found them in the pool. Tintswalo Ngalalune drowned. Her three-year-old sister was airlifted to Chris Hani-Baragwanath Hospital. On Wednesday night Enketelo Ngalalune was still unconscious, said Opperman