Britain's recent spell of record-breaking heat has been overshadowed by a series of heartbreaking deaths in rivers, lakes and coastal waters, prompting renewed warnings from safety organisations about the hidden dangers of open water swimming.
The Royal Life Saving Society UK (RLSS UK) said warmer weather often leads to a rise in accidental drownings, particularly among young people seeking relief from soaring temperatures. The charity stressed that, despite the hot conditions on land, water temperatures across much of the UK remain dangerously cold.
At least nine people, including seven children and teenagers, lost their lives in separate incidents over the Bank Holiday period as temperatures climbed above 35C in parts of England.
Among those who diedwas 12-year-old Junior Slater from Clayton-le-Woods, Lancashire, who got into difficulty while swimming in the River Ribble with friends on Tuesday. Emergency crews launched a major search operation before recovering his body later that evening.
Paying tribute, his devastated family described him as 'our little blue-eyed boy' and said he had been 'the life and soul' of their lives.
Fifteen-year-old Declan Sawyer was also found dead after entering Swanholme Lakes in Lincolnshire on Sunday afternoon. His father, Carl, remembered him as 'a funny and outgoing young man' who loved football and fishing, while urging parents to speak to children about water safety.
Other victims included 13-year-old Reco Puttock, who died after being pulled from Leadbeater Dam near Halifax in West Yorkshire, and a teenage girl believed to be 16-year-old Lillianna Tomlinson, whose body was recovered from Kingsbury Water Park in Warwickshire.
Police also recovered the bodies of teenage boys from Rother Valley Country Park in South Yorkshire, Pickmere Lake in Cheshire and Hawley Lake near Farnborough in Hampshire.
Two adults also died during the heatwave. A man in his 60s suffered a cardiac arrest after entering the sea near Padstow in Cornwall to help relatives struggling in the water, while a 72-year-old woman died after being pulled from the sea at West Angle Bay in Pembrokeshire.
Water safety experts say many people underestimate the risks posed by rivers, lakes and the sea during hot weather.
Source: International Business Times UK
