21 January 2010

Six people have drowned after a high school dragon boat training exercise in Malaysia went horribly wrong on January 17, 2010. The New Straits Times reports that the dragon boat with 18 people onboard became unstable after being hit by strong waves and colliding with a tugboat that was moored close by. A second wave caused the dragon boat to capsize.

The team had gone out to sea to train for an upcoming competition and only 12 of the 18 on board were wearing lifejackets. A supervising teacher, one of the six victims, could not swim.

A survivor, student Kuah Zi Xun said that after being tipped from their boat a strong undercurrent pulled them under the water. Only 12 were able to swim to the surface and stay afloat until they were rescued by passing fishermen.

This mirrors a similar incident in November 2007, when five dragon boat team members drowned at a race in Cambodia. Neither event came under the auspices of the International Dragon Boat Federation (IDBF). Although life jackets are compulsory and must be worn at all dragon boating events in Singapore, the national team chose not to wear them to the Cambodian race, in the fear that the life jackets would “slow them down”, Channel News Asia reports.

In response to the team’s decision to not wear lifejackets, Dr Teo Ho Pin, chairman of the National Water Safety Council said at the time “I don’t consider those as valid reasons because I think we should not compromise on safety. Safety is paramount, especially in open waters, in river conditions that are unpredictable”.

In the wake of the Malaysian tragedy, dragon boating participants are being urged to always wear lifejackets and coaches are advised to pull out of competitions that do not meet international safety requirements.

Dragon boating is a popular recreation and competitive activity in many Asian countries, including Vietnam which will host the next World Conference on Drowning Prevention, in May 2011.

These incidents highlight the importance of two key themes of the conference, Research and Swimming & Water Safety. Given the regional significance of preventing drowning deaths and improving safety around dragon boating, conference organisers believe further research into such drowning incidents, as well as the safety standards of these and other recreational activities, is urgently needed.

Amy Peden, Royal Life Saving Society - Australia

The conference organisers welcome contributions to this news facility. Please email all contributions to jscarr@rlssa.org.au