site.bta5,753 People Saved from Drowning in Bulgaria in 2023

In 2023, 5,753 people were saved from drowning in Bulgaria, Anton Nalbantov, Director of the Water Rescue Service of the Bulgarian Red Cross (BRC), said on Thursday during a press conference on the occasion of the Water Rescue Week (June 3-10).

Over the past five years, there has been a significant decrease in drowning cases, Nalbantov said. In 2022, deaths from drowning in Bulgaria were 228, and in 2023, 109 people drowned. In 2019, the cases were under a hundred. In the first five months of 2024, there were 12 drowning cases, compared to 20 in the first five months of the previous year. There were seven child drowning deaths in 2023. Nalbantov stressed that the aim is to reduce this number to 0. 

The number of trained professional water rescuers in this country in 2023 was 767, Nalbantov pointed out. Of these, 534 work at pools, and 215 at the seaside. In 2023, seven senior lifeguards and 11 instructors were trained, and seven people received a Young Lifeguard qualification.

In the past year, a total of 3,559 water rescue certificates were issued. Of these, there were 2,260 vouchers for pools, and 1,299 for the sea. This year, 52,384 people were trained in water trauma prevention programmes.

Last year, the number of drownings in inland water reservoirs equaled those in the sea. Out of a total of 109 cases, 54 of them occurred along the Bulgarian Black Sea coast, and 55 - in inland water territories.

Bulgaria is one of the countries with slightly below the European average level of drowning deaths, said Prof. Stoyan Andonov, Deputy Youth and Sports Minister and National Water Rescue Commission Chair. He explained that in Bulgaria the percentage is about 1.2% and in the Scandinavian countries - over 3%. Globally, drowning is the third leading cause of death. This is one of the serious causes of death, which should be paid attention to, stressed Andonov.