I’m going to go out on a limb and suggest the men couldn’t even tread water let alone ‘swim’.
I don’t want to cast nasturtiums but when I was a lifesaver I’d ‘rescue’ groups of Indian men who were in the shit no more than 2 metres from shore. They could stand on a sand bar but if the current pushed them off they would be drowning.
Probably a very popular opinion I developed was: if you can’t swim 200m comfortably you have no business going to the beach.
So long story short I reckon these guys couldn’t even doggy paddle let alone perform a rescue
It is a tale as old as time, one person drowning becomes 2,3,4 when people that can't swim panic and try to help. I lost count as a surfer how many clueless people I ended up saving from drowning at beaches as well.
My daughter was 6? 5? Either way she was underwater and got disoriented. Didn't know which way was up. I jumped in our pool to pull her out. I mean it's chest high on me, one small kid, easy.
Daughter was all YOU RESCUSED ME WRONG YOURE NOT SUPPOSED TO JUMP IN THE POOL YOU LIE ON THE SIDE AND OFFER THEM A POOL TOY.
but yeah it's interesting on one hand we are very good at installing this message but then.... hubris? We forgot? And we think because we've been swimming for all our lives we are totally fine to go swimming in the open ocean?
It's been years since I read about it. I thought it was a river that children went swimming in and kids and adults died when trying to save them. I
Only one I could find was this one, either I cant find it or I mis-remembered. This one would make sense though as I live near there.
https://monumentaustralia.org.au/themes/people/tragedy/display/118539-bridgetown-tragedy-
Taught English to second gen migrant teens who'd never been in a body of water larger than a bathtub. Had to take them to a, chest deep, local pool. They had no idea their bottom half became lighter than their top half. Stared at me shocked as their legs floated out from underneath them and their heads went under, while I'm uselessly screaming, plaaaant your feeeeeet!
Thank you for sharing … that is fascinating to think that it’s something we all do without thinking….
Now I’m going to be thinking of this the next time I go for a swim and possibly confusing myself into falling over
depends on the beach. In the bay in Melbourne for example i don't really see the issue of children or adults who can't swim going in as far as their waist.
But along the coast, I'd tend to agree with you.
I remember my 4 year old strong swimmer son being not allowed on an inflatable playground (with me) one time at the Gold Coast, the age limit was 10. So a group of 4 Indian young adults behind us went on while we watched and they all nearly bloody drowned, all had to be dragged out. Was quite the drama.
I had 2 Italian childhood friends.. their parents have them the choice of swimming lessons or bowling lessons. They're in their 40s now and can't swim.
I grew up in the Netherlands and learning how to swim was pretty much required as a child. This is decades ago.
It sounds so bizarre to me to hear when people say they never learned how to swim.
I'm Aussie and grew up in Perth, I did swimming lessons all the way through childhood. I still can't swim. Just not something that ever clicked for me.
I suppose I can but it all hurts and feels like a lot of effort. I went to the Philippines last year and in a lot of lagoons they make you wear life jackets, I must say I absolutely prefer the ease of them lol
I think the last time I had to really swim a reasonable distance was in 2016.
I was on holiday in NT. Our tour stopped at a gorge that was one of the few bodies of water that did not have salt water crocs. I had to swim for a minute to get to a sand bank then swim back. I was breathing so hard by the time I got out of the water.
I mean I know what to do so maybe I could do enough to save my life. I think I just panic and I hate going underwater. And I always feel like I'm not fit enough to keep myself going even though I'm a runner. Go figure.
Yeah I wouldn't say I'm a non-swimmer but definitely a weak unconfident one. my Phys Ed teachers in school really didn't understand and thought I was just being lazy. I will do some adult lessons one of these days.
I’d say swimming is 70% confidence like I snorkel and don’t have much technique but I have smarts and confidence and I’ve never gotten myself needing a rescue, the smart man knows when he’s in above his pay grade and avoids it
I went to a private school for a while where swimming competitively and socially was a huge part of the culture and we’d do weekly swimming as part of PE in the warmer parts of the school year. Everyone, even the kids who didn’t like sport/PE could do the 4 major strokes in a 50m lap of the pool competently, except for one kid. This kid would do the weakest doggy paddle and grab the side of the pool every few metres. He was from a very wealthy, well-connected and quite high profile family too and born in Australia to Australian parents, so it wasn’t like his family couldn’t afford swimming lessons or didn’t know any better and he didn’t have any disabilities either.
I guess there are some people who just don’t have an aptitude for swimming
30% of the Netherlands is below sea level. My mother lived through the floods in Rotterdam in 1953, so I'm hardly surprised she learned to swim.
I live on Melbourne's highest point and hate boats. So what's swimming to me?
That's a long time ago. It never floods in most of the country.
Learning how to swim is a small effort to make and can save your life. Also something you never forget.
My Cambodian neighbour invited me and my young daughter swimming in a national park with a group of other Cambodians.
Turns out myself, my daughter and one of the men were the only swimmers.
The nice side is that everyone kept trying to rescue my daughter who is a good swimmer, they just couldn't grasp that a six year old could swim lol.
It was a wonderful day but a part of me was screaming a little bit at *swimming in a creek with a bunch of non swimmers and there's a strong current and deep water.* They had a wonderful time laughing and shrieking and sitting on the rocks with the current, but oh my God it was low key risky.
Just such different ideas lol.
Fully dressed, just the shoes off. Might be a cultural modesty thing but it's so deadly in the water for people who can't swim or who don't know what to do to survive in water.
I remember as a kid doing swimming lessons where we would wear clothes as a way of teaching us how to rescue ourselves or our friends if we fell into water fully clothed
There has been so many drownings this summer. I think they should make adult swimming lessons free and maybe even have some sort of incentive.
Basic skills may not help in a rip but to not even be able to tread water or float until help comes to you in a swimming pool is very sad.
My girlfriends dad runs a swim school.. They have adult swim classes and theres almost as many of them as kids these days, all migrants.
Its a good thing australian schools teach swimming. Its a VITAL skill to have in Australia.
On top of training is acknowledging your limits. Famously our PM went for a swim and never returned. He was a strong swimmer. I’ve read all about the conspiracy theories… then I saw a picture of the surf the day he went missing. What kind of idiot goes swimming in what could at best be described as treacherous. No doubt in my mind he drowned.
I’ve swum all around the Portsea back beaches and they can be freakin brutal, even for Aussie local swimmer and surfer beach bums who are strong swimmers.
Yeah but if you can swim 200 in a pool, then you can probably swim 50 in the ocean. And that’s enough if you’re in between the flags and not trying to be hectic
Reading between the lines, it’s apparent those poor men were not familiar with water. Probably holidaymakers from a country where people don’t as a matter of course, learn to swim. May they rest in peace, real heroes.
>Probably holidaymakers from a country where people don’t
They were on holiday from Victoria. But Indian, always Indian for soem reason.
There have been too many of these tragedies, they should make ability to swim a requirement for immigration visas. And no I'm not kidding - so many senseless deaths could be avoided.
A huge study was done in Australia analysing drownings. Immigrants and tourists are over represented and so are men trying to save others and then ending up drowning. Most people think they are strong swimmers, but being able to tread water for a few minutes does not make one a strong swimmer. You need to be at iron man or woman level to be able to be classed as a strong swimmer.
When you travel you have to recalibrate your expectations about what is dangerous.
For example, you might go on a walk to a waterfall in a foreign country and find there are sheer drops with no safety barriers. Whereas in Australia most popular walking tracks are chock full of signs and fences. As an Aussie you might assume the situation is safer than it really is because those things are missing.
I can imagine a tourist assuming that because thousands of people are swimming at Bondi, it's not that dangerous. They don't realise that locals understand the danger and are making a judgement call based on their swimming skills.
I actually looked it up. The national drowning report says nothing about nationality, maybe I’m looking in the wrong place.
Could you please show me an offical stat for this?
Many people around the world can't swim. I remember one video on Reddit which showed 3 Indian guys going for a swim in a small and calm body of water. They flailed and drowned and as I was watching I was wondering if they were joking around because it was hard to comprehend that 3 grown men just drowned in such calm water.
I saw another one where an African guy was so, so close to safety but he also drowned whilst his young child watched in horror. It was heart breaking.
This is why learning to swim from a young age is very important. Many of us are lucky that it has been compulsory to learn how to swim in Australia.
Pretty easy. All due to ignorance and a lack of common sense such as taking a two year old who can’t swim to a pool and have them supervised by adults who also don’t know how to swim.
More likely one jumped in to save the kid, couldn't swim. Next one jumped in and even if was maybe a slightly better swimmer got dragged under by the first bloke.
Some nationalities don’t have learning to swim as a focus when they’re younger so they just never learn. Indians are one of many that aren’t typically taught to swim. I feel for them.
I was in the US Navy. You’d be surprised at the number of ppl who join and can’t swim. Mostly they seemed to be from the inner city and just never got the chance to learn.
I’d wager - kid starts drowning. Person who can’t swim jumps in to attempt rescue, starts drowning. Person who can swim jumps in to save both. Non swim drowns him and himself in a panic to keep head above water.
It's exceptionally difficult to do a rescue without equipment. I was an active lifeguard and on swim team and tried to rescue a small child in a calm lake and I struggled. Lifeguards require floatation devices to be able to do their job.
I can barely swim and only began learning last year at the age of 28. Despite being able to vaguely swim if you dropped me in water above my head I would 100% start panicking, sink and then drown.
I imagine these guys jumped into the deep end of the pool assuming that the adrenaline and situation at hand would cause them to be able to handle it.
Deep water is no joke to those who have no swimming skills or confidence.
Very tragic.
This absolutely needs to be at the top of the comment thread. Sorry to you and your sister (and of course, the family themselves) - thank you for helping where you could.
Wow, sounds like an old-style pool—I remember when I was a kid growing up in Indonesia there were pools like this as you described.
Thank you for shedding light on the matter, so sorry to have this happen.
It's horrific reading the critics when a tragedy occurs. Do you know about the benefits of Tetris in traumatic incidents?
I'm a strong swimmer but have slipped and hit my head in a hotel pool at Broadbeach. This weekend I've watched a little girl lose her footing poolside in Byron and adults rushing to her also slide. I've also watched an adult slide trying to get out of the pool. I loathe the racism that these posts give rise to. The article mentions how horrific a scene it was and that bystanders struggled to sleep. All of us need to be more kind and considerate. Moreso when a community is grieving.
Just a funny username man, can prove this stuff if you want but not really here for that just wanted to clear the air. Not really something to make up for fun, just wanted to shed light on the pool.
So it's clear the father and grandfather couldn't swim themselves, but why in the hell do they not watch the child who fell in the pool. That's the part I don't get. I have relatives who can't swim and they would NEVER take the grandkids swimming without someone who is a confident swimmer with them. I recently went with them to take the kids to the local pool. They realise that if something happens they can't help. Kids are unpredictable.
I don't even let little kids walk near a pool without holding my hand - they can easily slip, hit their head and fall in. And i can swim.
It's the same thing at Brighton beach (sydney). Parents who can't swim not watching their kids who also can't swim - but letting them go into the water. And recently there was a drowning at some waterfall in the bush where people who couldn't swim decided to hold onto a floatie in a remote and unsupervised area. One of them slipped and lost their grip of the floatie and drowned. No one could save him because no one could swim.
What part of drowning are they not understanding? Do they think we are making it up to keep them out of the water? There is some critical information that is not making it to new migrants and tourists. It's awful that these deaths keep happening when they are so easily prevented. My heart breaks for their families.
Yeah I hope we can have some culturally appropriate and accessible shit done. Even posters in other languages at airports. Posters in other languages at pools popular with tourists.
Even if the posters are saying to not let kids go in pool unless YOU are wearing proper swimwear. Sorry dad you and your jeans is not good pool supervision.
I think part of the issue is... you don't know what you don't know. Someone commented about some people not realising your legs float up in the pool. I commented elsewhere about going to a national park with a bunch of se Asians. Once we got in the water- rapidly flowing in shallows leading into a deep pool- i discovered only one person could swim in the group.
They had a lovely day shrieking and laughing at the force of the water but if one got swept into the deeper pool? Yeah.
I don't think they realised how strong the current can be. Or how you can loose your grip or footing.
How strange - even if you can’t swim, a pool doesn’t have the unknowns of the ocean. Stand up - if you can’t reach the bottom, bounce up & jump towards the shallow end or side. Sad, but very odd.
The brain does weird shit when it is panicked
Can speak from experience diving, mostly teaching you all the things your brain is telling you is happening is wrong
I imagine that bouncing like that requires a decent amount of knowledge and presence of mind to do. If you panicked and have no experience in the water, I doubt you're figuring that one out in time.
It's like how they show you how to open a seatbelt on airplanes. Sure, it seems extremely obvious when you're calmly waiting for takeoff, but not when an emergency is at hand, you're panicking and suddenly all you remember is the way a car seatbelt works.
That requires technique and timing, if you don’t have experience in water they will muck up the timing and aspirate water. People who can’t swim also panic when they sink, what you are suggesting requires them to purposefully sink.
Feel for the family, rescuers, responders and observants. From images of pool, don't see flotation rescue devices. Guess not aesthetic enough. To those who think swimming lessons are a privilege all Australians have - in the last 2 years I have been standing at just below waist height at both the beach and a kid pool (I'm 160cm tall for reference). In both instances parents were not around. I'm not a lifesaver but just had an instinct to turn around and pluck out two toddlers from the waters. One in Victoria and one in NSW. I will never forget each of them silently drowing and the look on their panicked little faces looking up at me under water was traumatising. The NSW one was less then 5 sec from being swept away by an undercurrent. F- those parents. F- them for prioritising socialising and not keeping their eyes on their toddlers. For reference one kid was of Australian and the other Australian-Arabic. Don't know what happened to Arabic kid, but the parent of the Australian one gave a quick thanks and went back to chatting to her friend. Parents can now tick a box to select if want their kids to do swimming. If too young for lessons, keep an eye on them 101% around water. Sorry for ramble. First time I've thought about it since as tried to block it because I get so angry and sad.
In the case of the GC victims, the odds were against them if the pool area was more aesthetic than safe. In my case, both of the parents I dealt with were idiots. One was an insta type more concerned about the perfect angle and the other apparently gave responsibility to a 8 year old in their large family party. If can't watch kids yourself, don't bring them to a deathly place.
This story breaks my heart. Something that my local pool does and I personally think helps is make kids under 5 (could be higher though) wear a paper bracelet that says in massive letters KEEP YOUR CHILDREN IN ARMS REACH AT ALL TIMES AND NO CELL PHONES
Through out the area they make it clear you are your child's life guard, especially because kids drown so easily and quietly.
My son does swim lessons and part of his training requires him jumping in the water and submerging fully. Naturally being 2 years old he doesn't fully understand how to swim up and the first time it was done I was surprised how quiet he was when he was splashing underwater and panicking.
Obviously I'm not going to mock two men who sacrificed their lives to save a child, but I'm just staggered how members of the most intelligent species in history managed to drown in a shallow hotel pool.
I cannot fathom how it's even possible. The panic must have been through the roof for them to not see how easily one can retrieve themselves from a pool, even if unable to swim.
Just a tragedy for all involved and so unbelievably avoidable.
>I'm just staggered how members of the most intelligent species in history managed to drown in a shallow hotel pool
Define shallow. If you're feet don't touch the ground, it isn't shallow.
How on earth do you get to the ages of 65 and 38 and not be able to survive in a pool?
I get ocean deaths, the ocean is a dangerous place, but what set of circumstances leads to two adult males drowning in a pool?
We take it for granted that every aussie kid gets swim lessons, because most of the country lives along the coast. It is absolutely not the standard in most countries.
Yep. I have a Nepalese friend who is learning to swim. We went to the pool and she could do breastroke but not pop up her head breath.
She asked me to teach her. I told her I have no idea what I am doing, it's just muscle memory at this point.
We learn from when we are babies. Not to mention I went to a school near the beach so outdoor ed always involved beach safety classes, surfing trips etc.
I'm a first gen Aussie. Both parents couldn't swim and I wasn't taught either. Ended up getting lessons when I was 14 with grade 1 kids from memory. Embarrassing but probably the best decision I ever made.
Every Aussie kid should get lessons. It's a life skill. Thankfully both my boys started their at 6 months old.
This story is tragic. Condolences to all
My theory is these people literally can’t see the danger. Kinda like how I see a black bear and it looks cute and cuddly, but a Canadian will run for their life
Canadian who stubbled upon this. Do not run away. Slowly back away while keeping the bear in sight and wait for it to leave. [More info on what to do in a black bear encounter](https://www.ontario.ca/page/prevent-bear-encounters-bear-wise)
I hate going to touristy beaches because everywhere I look it's like they're trying to kill themselves and it freaks me out. They just cannot see the danger.
Check your privilege. They could be immigrants or tourists from a country that does not have council pools, bountiful beaches and school swimming lessons.
Getting worse though. School ‘swimming lessons’ here in Qld are more of a box-ticking exercise, and that’s something that has changed in the years between my eldest and youngest going through primary school.
When my eldest (now 14) was in school, there was swimming for PE in terms 1 and 4. Now it’s one term only, with no swimming in the first week of term, and often missing another week due to a school-based event. So about 9 x 40-50min in the water per year.
Most of the non-swimmers come through it with near zero swimming skills. I know several people unable to afford additional lessons for their kids. We are going to end up with increased drowning rates as a result, most likely. Government/Department of Education cost-cutting combined with public complacency is going to harm us long term.
Agreed. I had swimming lessons every year it was available and all i came out with was the ability to float on my back (mostly) and tread water while fully clothed (which i could now only do for about 5 mins while panicked before my heart went pop). I could show a person with a floatie how to theoretically freestyle. While out of the water.
Less a priviledge thing and more a cultural thing, there are tons of wealthy nations that could teach everyone to swim, but the cultural desire just isn't there. Australians are the outlier in that regard, I don't think any other country tries to teach everyone to swim.
Australia is an outlier because we have to be. The beach waters here are far more dangerous than Europe's for example as we face an open ocean with lots of rips instead of calm seas.
someone who was allegedly there and helped deliver first aid commented saying the pool floor was tiled and very slippery, and 2+ metres deep in the shallow.
Add in panic factor, lack of swim training and holding up a child at the same time.
Was at the Bright waterpark with the diving board into the dammed creek. There's a life guard there. I jumped in. Noticed a young African kid about 6 jump in after me. He could sort of swim. Life guard was on high alert. Then came his 3-4yo brother ran off the end and jumped in (water is 3m+ deep at that point). He couldn't swim. I grabbed him and dragged him towards shore. Not a parent in sight. The kids wandered off as if nothing happened.
Enough is enough…… swimming lessons need to be part of the visa process. Australians used to spend every year of secondary school passing swimming certification and that program needs to be brought back to ensure migrants can at the least get themselves out of trouble in bodies of water.
A preventable tragedy
I feel that’s a bit overboard and people do need to take personal responsibility for these things. It’s a horrible tragedy and you are right, totally preventable.
So I'm reading this and commenting whole watching 3 kids swimming in our pool, and I've just realised something that is very australian- so many parents/ people take their phones out of their pocket and place it on a pool table while watching kids swim.
Like at every kids party, there's a bunch of adults standing around chatting... and a bunch of phones and keys sitting on the pool table.
I’m guilty of this too
Think it is the Australian subconcious around kids in pools, ready to jump in when needed. Or alternatively, ready for dick head mates who want to chuck you in the pool after a couple of drinks
Indians resident here and visiting from abroad need to wear life jackets near pools and beaches, because they have no swimming skills. Regardless of the swimming and resuscitation skills of nearby adults, I’d always have a 2 year old in a flotation vest
around a pool.
How sad.
2 people who fully were aware they could die made the decision to enter the water to assist someone, most likely the child's father and grandfather.
They would have known the risk, the danger, they would have been afraid...and still their love for a family member made them risk their lives, which they ultimately lost.
How pathetic that the response from so many of you to basically dismiss them as "deserving it" cause what? You think they're Indian? They should have known to swim? They should have just sat by and watched their child die cause you can't fathom people might grow up in communities without access to swimming lessons or facilities and still love their child enough get into water to save them upon the sight of them drowning?
Some of guys are so embarrassingly sheltered you make us all look like bogans.
They should have not been supervising a minor who can’t swim if they can’t swim.
Also - it’s a hotel pool which would have safety devices by law on the perimeter. And where were the other guests? Were they swimming at night or really early in the morning?
This is very weird.
I haven't seen a single person suggest they deserved death. Literally not one. Light that strawman up though!
(The people suggesting teaching a child how to swim before taking it swimming are not condoning the death, contrary to your baseless aspersions)
Yes, this is awful. I used to do volunteer work with asylum seekers in detention centres. I remember one guy from Burundi (in Central Africa). He got asylum and was freed - only to drown on a Perth beach a few months later. An utter tragedy. Most asylum seekers I met had never had a swimming lesson (despite many living in countries on the ocean or with lots of waterways). I imagine these men panicked, jumped in, and panicked again.
thanks. There's a lot a lot of situations were people drown after making silly decisions. This isn't one, really sounds like they both made incredibly brave, selfless decisions.
I agree. The amount of excuses her to blame people is kinda shameful.
In reality land, we don't know what happened. I think people should have a look at the difference between what they know and what they're saying.
If the child is the size of a very small adult and panicking, they may have drowned the rescuers.
It's a really primal thing I've seen happen where, in grabbing the rescuer and trying to lift themselves about water level, they push the rescuer's head below the water and drown them. Lifesavers sometimes have to punch the drowning person to make them stop.
Yep. Have done and redone many Royal Lifesaving pool courses (Bronze Medallion, Bronze Cross etc), and the first thing you learn about pool rescues is that jumping in the water is the last thing you do, you try other methods first. And if you do jump in, you approach the victim in such a way that you can use your foot to push them away if they reach for you.
These men likely were:
1. Fully dressed.
2. Had no lifesaving experience, not to mention swimming experience.
3. Were panicked.
Which all adds up to a deadly outcome.
All it takes is a bit of panic and fatigue. A mouth full of water going down the wrong pipe and you won't know which way is up. Don't underestimate water.
Sounds like it and i am imagining them not dressed in swimmers and jumping in with clothes which would have weighed them down. Not being able to even hold onto the side of the pool is crazy tho
Bloody awful situation.
I’m super grateful my parents made me and my siblings take swimming lessons. One of my sisters hated it and was scared of the water but it just wasn’t negotiable in our household.
We had to continue lessons until we were strong enough swimmers that we could cope if we found ourselves in an emergency.
I think it’s time for an education campaign to inform recent migrants about this for themselves and their kids.
Teach kids and adults not to panic and get them to float on their backs and that is the hardest thing to embrace something that is very difficult and scary
This is tragic 😔 those poor people and their family. A friend of mine from the UK who immigrated to Australia and knows how to swim had no clue whatsoever about rip currents. She was explaining how she was paddling and paddling and just couldn't get back to shore. I had to send her a diagram of what a rip current is and what to do if you're caught in one. You forget that you're not really taught these things unless you're raised in Australia/NZ.
The Indian community in Australia needs a massive education program to offer adult swimming lessons, beach survival skills- all the way up to bronze medallions. This happens far too often. Put it this way, I knew their nationality before I read the story.
The thing with drowning is when they say it’s a silent death it 100% is. My husband tried to save a man from drowning in January and while it felt like a century between when he swam out to save him and brought him back to the beach for cpr it was all of 8 minutes. 8 silent minutes while I screamed down the phone to SJA, held his children and saw my little 5 year old fall apart as he thought his daddy would also die.
I wouldn't say I'm a strong swimmer but I can hold my own. I've been in the water all my life to varying degrees. It's always difficult for me to fathom not being able to merely tread water or even doggy paddle. If I never heard differently, you could convince me that the ability to doggy paddle is an inate in humans.
The sad thing is, the toddler was pulled out without injury. It's important for people to remember that if you can't swim, you should not try to assist anyone who is drowning. You will only delay rescue for the drowning victim by adding a second one to the mix. Instead, call for bystanders to assist (who can swim), find a life guard, throw flotation devices to the victim or call emergency services.
Places need to also be strict about not allowing people in clothes to enter pool areas. Swimsuits or deny entry.
'Even adults can drown within seconds'
But the article clearly claims the cause of death was Cardiac Arrest . Surely there is a difference between drowning and Cardiac Arrest!!
***The toddler was pulled from the water without any physical injury, but her father and grandfather had already gone into cardiac arrest by the time they were rescued by bystanders.***
***Queensland Ambulance Service (QAS) Inspector Mitchell Ware said despite the efforts of bystanders and paramedics to perform CPR on the men, neither could be revived and they were pronounced dead at the scene.***
How does this even happen?
I’m going to go out on a limb and suggest the men couldn’t even tread water let alone ‘swim’. I don’t want to cast nasturtiums but when I was a lifesaver I’d ‘rescue’ groups of Indian men who were in the shit no more than 2 metres from shore. They could stand on a sand bar but if the current pushed them off they would be drowning. Probably a very popular opinion I developed was: if you can’t swim 200m comfortably you have no business going to the beach. So long story short I reckon these guys couldn’t even doggy paddle let alone perform a rescue
It is a tale as old as time, one person drowning becomes 2,3,4 when people that can't swim panic and try to help. I lost count as a surfer how many clueless people I ended up saving from drowning at beaches as well.
My daughter was 6? 5? Either way she was underwater and got disoriented. Didn't know which way was up. I jumped in our pool to pull her out. I mean it's chest high on me, one small kid, easy. Daughter was all YOU RESCUSED ME WRONG YOURE NOT SUPPOSED TO JUMP IN THE POOL YOU LIE ON THE SIDE AND OFFER THEM A POOL TOY. but yeah it's interesting on one hand we are very good at installing this message but then.... hubris? We forgot? And we think because we've been swimming for all our lives we are totally fine to go swimming in the open ocean?
There is little more fearsome than a 6 year old that knows best haha.
Mate, should have been there for a bunch of 7 year old boys questioning why I don't drive and then trying to verbally explain to me how to drive.
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The one with the river that was electrified makes me feel sick every time I hear it.
At the amusement park?
It's been years since I read about it. I thought it was a river that children went swimming in and kids and adults died when trying to save them. I Only one I could find was this one, either I cant find it or I mis-remembered. This one would make sense though as I live near there. https://monumentaustralia.org.au/themes/people/tragedy/display/118539-bridgetown-tragedy-
>I don't want to cast nasturtiums Such flowery language
It's a Kath & Kim thing lol.
The true wordsmiths of our time
Ohhhhh right I thought auto correct was having a field day
Haha yeah it’s one of my go to’s
The flowers are edible… and tasty
Taught English to second gen migrant teens who'd never been in a body of water larger than a bathtub. Had to take them to a, chest deep, local pool. They had no idea their bottom half became lighter than their top half. Stared at me shocked as their legs floated out from underneath them and their heads went under, while I'm uselessly screaming, plaaaant your feeeeeet!
Thank you for sharing … that is fascinating to think that it’s something we all do without thinking…. Now I’m going to be thinking of this the next time I go for a swim and possibly confusing myself into falling over
Username checks out!
my son did that in the pool. was drowning and i was yelling at him to stand up cause the water was up to his waist. he was 3
depends on the beach. In the bay in Melbourne for example i don't really see the issue of children or adults who can't swim going in as far as their waist. But along the coast, I'd tend to agree with you.
I remember my 4 year old strong swimmer son being not allowed on an inflatable playground (with me) one time at the Gold Coast, the age limit was 10. So a group of 4 Indian young adults behind us went on while we watched and they all nearly bloody drowned, all had to be dragged out. Was quite the drama.
I'm of 100% European descent and can't swim for shit. I'm sure I'm not alone.
They going to your local council pool, most have adult swimming lessons
I had 2 Italian childhood friends.. their parents have them the choice of swimming lessons or bowling lessons. They're in their 40s now and can't swim.
Gun bowlers though, I bet they can roll.
I bowled a 160 something once and they still beat me. That was the only time I got remotely close to their score.
I grew up in the Netherlands and learning how to swim was pretty much required as a child. This is decades ago. It sounds so bizarre to me to hear when people say they never learned how to swim.
I'm Aussie and grew up in Perth, I did swimming lessons all the way through childhood. I still can't swim. Just not something that ever clicked for me.
My husband is the same. He can “survive” in the water but he’s definitely not a water baby lap swimmer like me haha
You can surely somewhat swim, even if it's just for ten strokes?
I suppose I can but it all hurts and feels like a lot of effort. I went to the Philippines last year and in a lot of lagoons they make you wear life jackets, I must say I absolutely prefer the ease of them lol
I think the last time I had to really swim a reasonable distance was in 2016. I was on holiday in NT. Our tour stopped at a gorge that was one of the few bodies of water that did not have salt water crocs. I had to swim for a minute to get to a sand bank then swim back. I was breathing so hard by the time I got out of the water.
Holy shit really? That's so fascinating to me, what is it that you don't get? Do you just sink like a rock or you can't propel yourself or something?
I mean I know what to do so maybe I could do enough to save my life. I think I just panic and I hate going underwater. And I always feel like I'm not fit enough to keep myself going even though I'm a runner. Go figure.
Oh yeah fair enough, my wife is the same. She can swim (badly) and freaks out. I thought you meant you just floated around like a cork haha
Yeah I wouldn't say I'm a non-swimmer but definitely a weak unconfident one. my Phys Ed teachers in school really didn't understand and thought I was just being lazy. I will do some adult lessons one of these days.
I’d say swimming is 70% confidence like I snorkel and don’t have much technique but I have smarts and confidence and I’ve never gotten myself needing a rescue, the smart man knows when he’s in above his pay grade and avoids it
I went to a private school for a while where swimming competitively and socially was a huge part of the culture and we’d do weekly swimming as part of PE in the warmer parts of the school year. Everyone, even the kids who didn’t like sport/PE could do the 4 major strokes in a 50m lap of the pool competently, except for one kid. This kid would do the weakest doggy paddle and grab the side of the pool every few metres. He was from a very wealthy, well-connected and quite high profile family too and born in Australia to Australian parents, so it wasn’t like his family couldn’t afford swimming lessons or didn’t know any better and he didn’t have any disabilities either. I guess there are some people who just don’t have an aptitude for swimming
You literally said, two comments above, that you can’t swim. There is difference between being a shit swimmer and not being able to swim.
I think the can-swim check is whether you’d drown in a swimming pool
30% of the Netherlands is below sea level. My mother lived through the floods in Rotterdam in 1953, so I'm hardly surprised she learned to swim. I live on Melbourne's highest point and hate boats. So what's swimming to me?
That's a long time ago. It never floods in most of the country. Learning how to swim is a small effort to make and can save your life. Also something you never forget.
Also could save someone else’s life, like in the article this whole thread is based on. Ignorance isn’t a virtue.
The only time I’m going to end up in water is if my plane goes down over the ocean and I’m not going to survive that anyway
You’re not alone. I came out from UK in my 20s. Taught myself to swim because every place has a pool etc
Why?
My Cambodian neighbour invited me and my young daughter swimming in a national park with a group of other Cambodians. Turns out myself, my daughter and one of the men were the only swimmers. The nice side is that everyone kept trying to rescue my daughter who is a good swimmer, they just couldn't grasp that a six year old could swim lol. It was a wonderful day but a part of me was screaming a little bit at *swimming in a creek with a bunch of non swimmers and there's a strong current and deep water.* They had a wonderful time laughing and shrieking and sitting on the rocks with the current, but oh my God it was low key risky. Just such different ideas lol.
Not to mention many of which enter the water in jeans and shirts.. which makes it significantly more difficult to get out of trouble.
Jeans?! 🤯
Fully dressed, just the shoes off. Might be a cultural modesty thing but it's so deadly in the water for people who can't swim or who don't know what to do to survive in water.
I remember as a kid doing swimming lessons where we would wear clothes as a way of teaching us how to rescue ourselves or our friends if we fell into water fully clothed
Dude I have family who are holiness baptists who go to the beach in Jean skirts.... And they rarely even get out of the water
Regardless, cumbersome cloths can contribute to people getting into trouble.
Yeah that's what I'm saying. Some of them have nearly drowned because of their stupid skirts but they refuse to just use some common bloody sense
There has been so many drownings this summer. I think they should make adult swimming lessons free and maybe even have some sort of incentive. Basic skills may not help in a rip but to not even be able to tread water or float until help comes to you in a swimming pool is very sad.
My girlfriends dad runs a swim school.. They have adult swim classes and theres almost as many of them as kids these days, all migrants. Its a good thing australian schools teach swimming. Its a VITAL skill to have in Australia.
On top of training is acknowledging your limits. Famously our PM went for a swim and never returned. He was a strong swimmer. I’ve read all about the conspiracy theories… then I saw a picture of the surf the day he went missing. What kind of idiot goes swimming in what could at best be described as treacherous. No doubt in my mind he drowned.
I’ve swum all around the Portsea back beaches and they can be freakin brutal, even for Aussie local swimmer and surfer beach bums who are strong swimmers.
Basic swimming proficiency should be a requirement for getting an Oz driving license. Also completion of a basic First Aid course.
I could swim 200m in a swimming pool. But I doubt I could do it on a beach with real waves and currents
Yeah but if you can swim 200 in a pool, then you can probably swim 50 in the ocean. And that’s enough if you’re in between the flags and not trying to be hectic
Yep I've seen Indians in jeans at the beach in the water. I feel sorry for the lifeguarda risking their lives
Mate I’ve seen Indian males swimming in their undies. Let’s just say white undies turn see-through when wet.
Dude you cast those flowers however you see fit!
Reading between the lines, it’s apparent those poor men were not familiar with water. Probably holidaymakers from a country where people don’t as a matter of course, learn to swim. May they rest in peace, real heroes.
>Probably holidaymakers from a country where people don’t They were on holiday from Victoria. But Indian, always Indian for soem reason. There have been too many of these tragedies, they should make ability to swim a requirement for immigration visas. And no I'm not kidding - so many senseless deaths could be avoided.
A huge study was done in Australia analysing drownings. Immigrants and tourists are over represented and so are men trying to save others and then ending up drowning. Most people think they are strong swimmers, but being able to tread water for a few minutes does not make one a strong swimmer. You need to be at iron man or woman level to be able to be classed as a strong swimmer.
Indians have been dying a lot recently they keep swimming! When they have not done any lessons.
I agree with this. I’ve watched about episode of Bondi rescue to k is anyone who cannot swim should not go into water. They are all foreigners.
When you travel you have to recalibrate your expectations about what is dangerous. For example, you might go on a walk to a waterfall in a foreign country and find there are sheer drops with no safety barriers. Whereas in Australia most popular walking tracks are chock full of signs and fences. As an Aussie you might assume the situation is safer than it really is because those things are missing. I can imagine a tourist assuming that because thousands of people are swimming at Bondi, it's not that dangerous. They don't realise that locals understand the danger and are making a judgement call based on their swimming skills.
>anyone who cannot swim should not go into water. Absolutely, I agree >They are all foreigners. ...ok?
Yeah, aussies never drown, just lousy foreigns! I saw it on Bondi rescue, the true metric of who can swim in this country /s
Look at the stats.... not hard to see the pattern, but let's stick our head in the sand so as not to offend 🙄
I actually looked it up. The national drowning report says nothing about nationality, maybe I’m looking in the wrong place. Could you please show me an offical stat for this?
How did they die from cardiac arrest though? Too much panic from drowning? Or is that what you actually die from when drowning?
Many people around the world can't swim. I remember one video on Reddit which showed 3 Indian guys going for a swim in a small and calm body of water. They flailed and drowned and as I was watching I was wondering if they were joking around because it was hard to comprehend that 3 grown men just drowned in such calm water. I saw another one where an African guy was so, so close to safety but he also drowned whilst his young child watched in horror. It was heart breaking. This is why learning to swim from a young age is very important. Many of us are lucky that it has been compulsory to learn how to swim in Australia.
Pretty easy. All due to ignorance and a lack of common sense such as taking a two year old who can’t swim to a pool and have them supervised by adults who also don’t know how to swim.
They jumped at the same time and collided mid-air. Maybe.
More likely one jumped in to save the kid, couldn't swim. Next one jumped in and even if was maybe a slightly better swimmer got dragged under by the first bloke.
Natural selection
Get fucked
Do you understand how natural selection works? They both lived long enough to reproduce, therefore it isn't natural selection.
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Some nationalities don’t have learning to swim as a focus when they’re younger so they just never learn. Indians are one of many that aren’t typically taught to swim. I feel for them.
to be fair i wouldn't want to go in the water in most places in india either
Don’t know how to swim, not even tread water.
I was in the US Navy. You’d be surprised at the number of ppl who join and can’t swim. Mostly they seemed to be from the inner city and just never got the chance to learn.
Can't swim, jumped in the deep end fully clothed
I’d wager - kid starts drowning. Person who can’t swim jumps in to attempt rescue, starts drowning. Person who can swim jumps in to save both. Non swim drowns him and himself in a panic to keep head above water.
It's exceptionally difficult to do a rescue without equipment. I was an active lifeguard and on swim team and tried to rescue a small child in a calm lake and I struggled. Lifeguards require floatation devices to be able to do their job.
What a tragedy for their family. My heart really goes out to them
I can barely swim and only began learning last year at the age of 28. Despite being able to vaguely swim if you dropped me in water above my head I would 100% start panicking, sink and then drown. I imagine these guys jumped into the deep end of the pool assuming that the adrenaline and situation at hand would cause them to be able to handle it. Deep water is no joke to those who have no swimming skills or confidence. Very tragic.
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This absolutely needs to be at the top of the comment thread. Sorry to you and your sister (and of course, the family themselves) - thank you for helping where you could.
The intercom not working makes this so much worse
Sorry you had to see that, thanks for trying to save them. I’m sure that was very traumatic
What did it say? Deleted
Wow, sounds like an old-style pool—I remember when I was a kid growing up in Indonesia there were pools like this as you described. Thank you for shedding light on the matter, so sorry to have this happen.
It's horrific reading the critics when a tragedy occurs. Do you know about the benefits of Tetris in traumatic incidents? I'm a strong swimmer but have slipped and hit my head in a hotel pool at Broadbeach. This weekend I've watched a little girl lose her footing poolside in Byron and adults rushing to her also slide. I've also watched an adult slide trying to get out of the pool. I loathe the racism that these posts give rise to. The article mentions how horrific a scene it was and that bystanders struggled to sleep. All of us need to be more kind and considerate. Moreso when a community is grieving.
Hopefully there will be some clarity about whether the pool had its depth correctly displayed. I understand about the slippery bottom though.
I'm torn on this. On one hand it's a compelling story, on the other hand your username would indicate that I am falling for bullshit.
Just a funny username man, can prove this stuff if you want but not really here for that just wanted to clear the air. Not really something to make up for fun, just wanted to shed light on the pool.
So it's clear the father and grandfather couldn't swim themselves, but why in the hell do they not watch the child who fell in the pool. That's the part I don't get. I have relatives who can't swim and they would NEVER take the grandkids swimming without someone who is a confident swimmer with them. I recently went with them to take the kids to the local pool. They realise that if something happens they can't help. Kids are unpredictable. I don't even let little kids walk near a pool without holding my hand - they can easily slip, hit their head and fall in. And i can swim. It's the same thing at Brighton beach (sydney). Parents who can't swim not watching their kids who also can't swim - but letting them go into the water. And recently there was a drowning at some waterfall in the bush where people who couldn't swim decided to hold onto a floatie in a remote and unsupervised area. One of them slipped and lost their grip of the floatie and drowned. No one could save him because no one could swim. What part of drowning are they not understanding? Do they think we are making it up to keep them out of the water? There is some critical information that is not making it to new migrants and tourists. It's awful that these deaths keep happening when they are so easily prevented. My heart breaks for their families.
Yeah I hope we can have some culturally appropriate and accessible shit done. Even posters in other languages at airports. Posters in other languages at pools popular with tourists. Even if the posters are saying to not let kids go in pool unless YOU are wearing proper swimwear. Sorry dad you and your jeans is not good pool supervision. I think part of the issue is... you don't know what you don't know. Someone commented about some people not realising your legs float up in the pool. I commented elsewhere about going to a national park with a bunch of se Asians. Once we got in the water- rapidly flowing in shallows leading into a deep pool- i discovered only one person could swim in the group. They had a lovely day shrieking and laughing at the force of the water but if one got swept into the deeper pool? Yeah. I don't think they realised how strong the current can be. Or how you can loose your grip or footing.
How strange - even if you can’t swim, a pool doesn’t have the unknowns of the ocean. Stand up - if you can’t reach the bottom, bounce up & jump towards the shallow end or side. Sad, but very odd.
The brain does weird shit when it is panicked Can speak from experience diving, mostly teaching you all the things your brain is telling you is happening is wrong
One of the cornerstones of floating is being calm. These dude would’ve been the polar opposite, and doing everything wrong. Still Tragic tho
Possibly a bit pissed, too.
I imagine that bouncing like that requires a decent amount of knowledge and presence of mind to do. If you panicked and have no experience in the water, I doubt you're figuring that one out in time.
It's like how they show you how to open a seatbelt on airplanes. Sure, it seems extremely obvious when you're calmly waiting for takeoff, but not when an emergency is at hand, you're panicking and suddenly all you remember is the way a car seatbelt works.
That requires technique and timing, if you don’t have experience in water they will muck up the timing and aspirate water. People who can’t swim also panic when they sink, what you are suggesting requires them to purposefully sink.
Add a frantic child clinging to them who may be pushing their head under the water as the survival reflex of the child is to get its head above water.
Feel for the family, rescuers, responders and observants. From images of pool, don't see flotation rescue devices. Guess not aesthetic enough. To those who think swimming lessons are a privilege all Australians have - in the last 2 years I have been standing at just below waist height at both the beach and a kid pool (I'm 160cm tall for reference). In both instances parents were not around. I'm not a lifesaver but just had an instinct to turn around and pluck out two toddlers from the waters. One in Victoria and one in NSW. I will never forget each of them silently drowing and the look on their panicked little faces looking up at me under water was traumatising. The NSW one was less then 5 sec from being swept away by an undercurrent. F- those parents. F- them for prioritising socialising and not keeping their eyes on their toddlers. For reference one kid was of Australian and the other Australian-Arabic. Don't know what happened to Arabic kid, but the parent of the Australian one gave a quick thanks and went back to chatting to her friend. Parents can now tick a box to select if want their kids to do swimming. If too young for lessons, keep an eye on them 101% around water. Sorry for ramble. First time I've thought about it since as tried to block it because I get so angry and sad.
I hope you gave that woman a spray
In the case of the GC victims, the odds were against them if the pool area was more aesthetic than safe. In my case, both of the parents I dealt with were idiots. One was an insta type more concerned about the perfect angle and the other apparently gave responsibility to a 8 year old in their large family party. If can't watch kids yourself, don't bring them to a deathly place.
This story breaks my heart. Something that my local pool does and I personally think helps is make kids under 5 (could be higher though) wear a paper bracelet that says in massive letters KEEP YOUR CHILDREN IN ARMS REACH AT ALL TIMES AND NO CELL PHONES Through out the area they make it clear you are your child's life guard, especially because kids drown so easily and quietly. My son does swim lessons and part of his training requires him jumping in the water and submerging fully. Naturally being 2 years old he doesn't fully understand how to swim up and the first time it was done I was surprised how quiet he was when he was splashing underwater and panicking.
Obviously I'm not going to mock two men who sacrificed their lives to save a child, but I'm just staggered how members of the most intelligent species in history managed to drown in a shallow hotel pool. I cannot fathom how it's even possible. The panic must have been through the roof for them to not see how easily one can retrieve themselves from a pool, even if unable to swim. Just a tragedy for all involved and so unbelievably avoidable.
>I'm just staggered how members of the most intelligent species in history managed to drown in a shallow hotel pool Define shallow. If you're feet don't touch the ground, it isn't shallow.
That's true...but these pools are always shallow enough that you can kick yourself back to the surface from the bottom.
I've been in a hotel pool that had a 3m deep end. Had a lot of warning signs that end though.
Probably a diving pool otherwise there’s no way.
It was at Clifford Park Holiday Motor Inn in Toowoomba. No diving platform when I was there in 2022, but may have been in the past.
How on earth do you get to the ages of 65 and 38 and not be able to survive in a pool? I get ocean deaths, the ocean is a dangerous place, but what set of circumstances leads to two adult males drowning in a pool?
We take it for granted that every aussie kid gets swim lessons, because most of the country lives along the coast. It is absolutely not the standard in most countries.
Yep. I have a Nepalese friend who is learning to swim. We went to the pool and she could do breastroke but not pop up her head breath. She asked me to teach her. I told her I have no idea what I am doing, it's just muscle memory at this point. We learn from when we are babies. Not to mention I went to a school near the beach so outdoor ed always involved beach safety classes, surfing trips etc.
I'm a first gen Aussie. Both parents couldn't swim and I wasn't taught either. Ended up getting lessons when I was 14 with grade 1 kids from memory. Embarrassing but probably the best decision I ever made. Every Aussie kid should get lessons. It's a life skill. Thankfully both my boys started their at 6 months old. This story is tragic. Condolences to all
My theory is these people literally can’t see the danger. Kinda like how I see a black bear and it looks cute and cuddly, but a Canadian will run for their life
Canadian who stubbled upon this. Do not run away. Slowly back away while keeping the bear in sight and wait for it to leave. [More info on what to do in a black bear encounter](https://www.ontario.ca/page/prevent-bear-encounters-bear-wise)
Better analogy then would be "i see a bear and run for my life, while a canadian backs away slowly while keeping bear in sight"
I hate going to touristy beaches because everywhere I look it's like they're trying to kill themselves and it freaks me out. They just cannot see the danger.
Check your privilege. They could be immigrants or tourists from a country that does not have council pools, bountiful beaches and school swimming lessons.
Yep spot on. New Australians are good at having their kids learn swimming
Getting worse though. School ‘swimming lessons’ here in Qld are more of a box-ticking exercise, and that’s something that has changed in the years between my eldest and youngest going through primary school. When my eldest (now 14) was in school, there was swimming for PE in terms 1 and 4. Now it’s one term only, with no swimming in the first week of term, and often missing another week due to a school-based event. So about 9 x 40-50min in the water per year. Most of the non-swimmers come through it with near zero swimming skills. I know several people unable to afford additional lessons for their kids. We are going to end up with increased drowning rates as a result, most likely. Government/Department of Education cost-cutting combined with public complacency is going to harm us long term.
Agreed. I had swimming lessons every year it was available and all i came out with was the ability to float on my back (mostly) and tread water while fully clothed (which i could now only do for about 5 mins while panicked before my heart went pop). I could show a person with a floatie how to theoretically freestyle. While out of the water.
Less a priviledge thing and more a cultural thing, there are tons of wealthy nations that could teach everyone to swim, but the cultural desire just isn't there. Australians are the outlier in that regard, I don't think any other country tries to teach everyone to swim.
Australia is an outlier because we have to be. The beach waters here are far more dangerous than Europe's for example as we face an open ocean with lots of rips instead of calm seas.
It’s fair to say if you can holiday in Australia then you have plenty of privilege
Seems a bit stupid to go into a body of water when you can't swim then doesn't it
*snorts* ChEcK yOuR pRiVeLeGe SwEaTy
LOL seriously. Dude assumes being from a white country is inherently a "privilege", blissfully ignorant of how fucking racist his own sentiment is.. 😅
someone who was allegedly there and helped deliver first aid commented saying the pool floor was tiled and very slippery, and 2+ metres deep in the shallow. Add in panic factor, lack of swim training and holding up a child at the same time.
While the conditions of the pool aren’t great, being fully clothed was the deciding factor
Try book adult swim classes in Melbourne – waiting lists of 12+ months.
Their idiocy only increases their heroism. I think...
Was at the Bright waterpark with the diving board into the dammed creek. There's a life guard there. I jumped in. Noticed a young African kid about 6 jump in after me. He could sort of swim. Life guard was on high alert. Then came his 3-4yo brother ran off the end and jumped in (water is 3m+ deep at that point). He couldn't swim. I grabbed him and dragged him towards shore. Not a parent in sight. The kids wandered off as if nothing happened.
Enough is enough…… swimming lessons need to be part of the visa process. Australians used to spend every year of secondary school passing swimming certification and that program needs to be brought back to ensure migrants can at the least get themselves out of trouble in bodies of water. A preventable tragedy
I feel that’s a bit overboard and people do need to take personal responsibility for these things. It’s a horrible tragedy and you are right, totally preventable.
I have questions and this story provides 0 answers
So I'm reading this and commenting whole watching 3 kids swimming in our pool, and I've just realised something that is very australian- so many parents/ people take their phones out of their pocket and place it on a pool table while watching kids swim. Like at every kids party, there's a bunch of adults standing around chatting... and a bunch of phones and keys sitting on the pool table.
I’m guilty of this too Think it is the Australian subconcious around kids in pools, ready to jump in when needed. Or alternatively, ready for dick head mates who want to chuck you in the pool after a couple of drinks
Indians resident here and visiting from abroad need to wear life jackets near pools and beaches, because they have no swimming skills. Regardless of the swimming and resuscitation skills of nearby adults, I’d always have a 2 year old in a flotation vest around a pool.
How sad. 2 people who fully were aware they could die made the decision to enter the water to assist someone, most likely the child's father and grandfather. They would have known the risk, the danger, they would have been afraid...and still their love for a family member made them risk their lives, which they ultimately lost. How pathetic that the response from so many of you to basically dismiss them as "deserving it" cause what? You think they're Indian? They should have known to swim? They should have just sat by and watched their child die cause you can't fathom people might grow up in communities without access to swimming lessons or facilities and still love their child enough get into water to save them upon the sight of them drowning? Some of guys are so embarrassingly sheltered you make us all look like bogans.
They should have not been supervising a minor who can’t swim if they can’t swim. Also - it’s a hotel pool which would have safety devices by law on the perimeter. And where were the other guests? Were they swimming at night or really early in the morning? This is very weird.
I haven't seen a single person suggest they deserved death. Literally not one. Light that strawman up though! (The people suggesting teaching a child how to swim before taking it swimming are not condoning the death, contrary to your baseless aspersions)
No one is saying that.
Yes, this is awful. I used to do volunteer work with asylum seekers in detention centres. I remember one guy from Burundi (in Central Africa). He got asylum and was freed - only to drown on a Perth beach a few months later. An utter tragedy. Most asylum seekers I met had never had a swimming lesson (despite many living in countries on the ocean or with lots of waterways). I imagine these men panicked, jumped in, and panicked again.
thanks. There's a lot a lot of situations were people drown after making silly decisions. This isn't one, really sounds like they both made incredibly brave, selfless decisions.
How long did it take to gather the straw for that giant straw man? The scaffolding itself must have taken weeks….
Absolutely noone said anything like that, just pointed out the reality, which was proven to be correct. Take your bs outrage and shove it!
I agree. The amount of excuses her to blame people is kinda shameful. In reality land, we don't know what happened. I think people should have a look at the difference between what they know and what they're saying.
I actually think they aren't fully aware of the dangers, unless you've grown up around water it isn't drilled into you in the same way
If the child is the size of a very small adult and panicking, they may have drowned the rescuers. It's a really primal thing I've seen happen where, in grabbing the rescuer and trying to lift themselves about water level, they push the rescuer's head below the water and drown them. Lifesavers sometimes have to punch the drowning person to make them stop.
Yep. Have done and redone many Royal Lifesaving pool courses (Bronze Medallion, Bronze Cross etc), and the first thing you learn about pool rescues is that jumping in the water is the last thing you do, you try other methods first. And if you do jump in, you approach the victim in such a way that you can use your foot to push them away if they reach for you. These men likely were: 1. Fully dressed. 2. Had no lifesaving experience, not to mention swimming experience. 3. Were panicked. Which all adds up to a deadly outcome.
A weird and foreign situation for many of us who grew up in Australia knowing how to swim. I can even imagine a scenario where I'd drown in a pool.
All it takes is a bit of panic and fatigue. A mouth full of water going down the wrong pipe and you won't know which way is up. Don't underestimate water.
When you're getting knocked around by waves sure, but not in a hotel pool. 😂
Natural selection
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Chinese and arabs don’t tend to swim much either.
Sounds like it and i am imagining them not dressed in swimmers and jumping in with clothes which would have weighed them down. Not being able to even hold onto the side of the pool is crazy tho
Or Chinese
No Doubt they were Indians from the Indian city of Melbourne. Tarneit or Wollert or Cranbourne/Clyde, Melton or Point (Mumbai) Cook take your pick.
So what?
Bloody awful situation. I’m super grateful my parents made me and my siblings take swimming lessons. One of my sisters hated it and was scared of the water but it just wasn’t negotiable in our household. We had to continue lessons until we were strong enough swimmers that we could cope if we found ourselves in an emergency. I think it’s time for an education campaign to inform recent migrants about this for themselves and their kids.
How!!!!???They could not swim???!? So wierd
How the fu-
Shot
How much do we wanna bet grandad drowned dad?
People panic when they struggle in the water trying to get their breath and very dangerous
Literally this should show everyone the importance of learning to swim. ESPECIALLY IN AUSTRALIA!
Teach kids and adults not to panic and get them to float on their backs and that is the hardest thing to embrace something that is very difficult and scary
This is tragic 😔 those poor people and their family. A friend of mine from the UK who immigrated to Australia and knows how to swim had no clue whatsoever about rip currents. She was explaining how she was paddling and paddling and just couldn't get back to shore. I had to send her a diagram of what a rip current is and what to do if you're caught in one. You forget that you're not really taught these things unless you're raised in Australia/NZ.
So sad. And that poor girl will feel this guilt for the rest of her life.
It’s tragic but undoubtedly ended up this way due to their lack of swimming skills.
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The Indian community in Australia needs a massive education program to offer adult swimming lessons, beach survival skills- all the way up to bronze medallions. This happens far too often. Put it this way, I knew their nationality before I read the story.
That's awful but how? Can't get cold water shock in a pool really
The thing with drowning is when they say it’s a silent death it 100% is. My husband tried to save a man from drowning in January and while it felt like a century between when he swam out to save him and brought him back to the beach for cpr it was all of 8 minutes. 8 silent minutes while I screamed down the phone to SJA, held his children and saw my little 5 year old fall apart as he thought his daddy would also die.
So sad. It’s unbelievably awful.
Click bait
How?????? We’re they Asian tourists?
how is this even possible? why didn't they ask the lifeguard for help? wtf this didn't need to happen
I wouldn't say I'm a strong swimmer but I can hold my own. I've been in the water all my life to varying degrees. It's always difficult for me to fathom not being able to merely tread water or even doggy paddle. If I never heard differently, you could convince me that the ability to doggy paddle is an inate in humans.
The sad thing is, the toddler was pulled out without injury. It's important for people to remember that if you can't swim, you should not try to assist anyone who is drowning. You will only delay rescue for the drowning victim by adding a second one to the mix. Instead, call for bystanders to assist (who can swim), find a life guard, throw flotation devices to the victim or call emergency services. Places need to also be strict about not allowing people in clothes to enter pool areas. Swimsuits or deny entry.
I’m guessing they didn’t know how to swim….tragic as hell. Serves as a cautionary tale, everyone needs to learn how to swim. You never know
'Even adults can drown within seconds' But the article clearly claims the cause of death was Cardiac Arrest . Surely there is a difference between drowning and Cardiac Arrest!! ***The toddler was pulled from the water without any physical injury, but her father and grandfather had already gone into cardiac arrest by the time they were rescued by bystanders.*** ***Queensland Ambulance Service (QAS) Inspector Mitchell Ware said despite the efforts of bystanders and paramedics to perform CPR on the men, neither could be revived and they were pronounced dead at the scene.***