Snoqualmie River drowning underscores safety concerns
A man water-tubing on the Snoqualmie River drowned Saturday as the summer's first heat wave hit the region and health officials warned residents of the dangers of swimming and boating early in the season.
It is unclear whether the 27-year-old was wearing a life jacket. The man was on a tube pulled by a boat when his foot got caught in the towline, launching him into the water. The river's current pulled him under a rock, said Dan Griffin, King County Patrol spokesman.
He died under the rock, where his body remained for 15 minutes until he was carried downstream. County rescue personnel recovered his body shortly before 4 p.m.
Know the water. Know your limits. And wear a life vest. Those are the three cardinal rules of water safety, according to the statewide Drowning Prevention Network. Many forget or ignore these safety rules, officials say, particularly in the early days of summer.
Temperatures were expected to reach 89 degrees on land today, but the water in the lakes is only about 60 degrees, say health officials, which makes it more difficult to swim. Cold temperatures tire out the muscles of even the most experienced swimmers.
"You get people who look at a swim raft offshore and say, 'I can make that distance' — when, in fact, they can't," said Kathy Whitman, aquatics manager for Seattle's Parks and Recreation Department.
According to state statistics, those at highest risk for drowning are children younger than 5, males between 15 and 24, people 65 and older and people with seizure disorders.
Tony Gomez, injury-prevention manager for Public Health — Seattle & King County, said young men are at particular risk of drowning because they so often swim in locations without lifeguards. They will decide on a whim, for example, to go swimming in a river after school or work. And this early in the season, he said, water in the rivers is about 40 degrees.
"Some of those people are going to be in trouble in about five seconds," said Gomez.
He urged all swimmers to wear life vests, which cost as little as $20 each, and to swim in areas with lifeguards.
High toll on children
Drowning is the second-leading cause of unintentional injury or death for children in Washington. Every year, drowning accounts for an average of 24 deaths, 26 hospitalizations and about 110 visits to emergency rooms for children up to age 17, according to the state Department of Health.
Most drowning deaths take place in open water, and many stem from boating incidents. The most common drowning sites in King County last year were Lake Washington, Lake Sammamish, the Green River and the Snoqualmie River.
Just last week, a 19-year-old man from Puyallup drowned in Lake Sammamish. Rafael B. Sanchez was not wearing a life jacket when he either fell from a personal watercraft or the machine became disabled, the King County Sheriff's Office said.
Pools at hotels, motels and apartment complexes are a particular concern for small children, said Gomez.
Better prevention
Dr. Linda Quan, a professor of pediatrics at the University of Washington, said King County has come a long way in drowning prevention over the past few decades. The job of lifeguard has been better defined, she said, and the county has ramped up safety education with such efforts as "April Pools Day" and "Summer Splash-tacular."
"This is a real success story," said Quan, also an emergency-room doctor at Children's Hospital & Regional Medical Center.
But there still were 17 accidental drowning deaths in King County last year. In a recent report to the county's Board of Health, Quan and Gomez recommended life-jacket loan programs and an increase in lifeguards at beaches — particularly at state parks, where swimming areas have gone unsupervised for years.
"There's been a constant push for the last 20 years to reduce support for lifeguards, as if it's considered a luxury," said Gomez. "And it really is not."
Over the past 15 years, Gomez said, there have been five drowning deaths at Lake Sammamish State Park. Given when and where those drownings occurred, he argued that lifeguards could have prevented the deaths.
Quan also recommended more prevention work in certain ethnic communities. The rate of drowning is particularly high in Asian-American communities, she said, partly because water sports are not an integral part of many Asian cultures.
Whitman, of Seattle Parks and Recreation, pointed to a range of resources for people who want to learn how to swim.
The city's nine beaches offer free beginner lessons throughout the summer. And families of all third- and fourth-graders in the city receive vouchers in the mail for free swimming lessons.
"In a city surrounded by water, there's a real belief that every child should have swimming as a life skill," said Whitman. "We would love to be able to influence a whole generation."
Cara Solomon: 206-464-2024 or csolomon@seattletimes.com
Know the water: Washington's lakes and rivers are cold enough to cause hypothermia, even in the summer and even among the strongest swimmers. Ways to stay safe:
• Wear a lifejacket.
• Avoid swimming or boating in high running water.
• Check water conditions.
• Never dive or jump into unfamiliar or shallow water.
• Swim in designated areas only.
Know your limits: Drowning often happens when someone is swimming and becomes tired. People usually drown in silence and without attracting attention. It is a myth that people wave their arms and shout for help — the struggle to breathe and stay afloat is too difficult. Ways to be safe:
• Take swim lessons
• Learn to float and tread water
• Swim in lifeguarded areas
• Watch children closely when they are in or near tubs, spas, pools, and open water
• Avoid swimming while under the influence of alcohol or other drugs.
Wear a life jacket: In 2003, 86% of people who drowned in boating incidents in the U.S. were not wearing a life jacket. The US Coast Guard estimates that more than 400 lives would have been saved in 2003 if more US boaters had worn life jackets. Washington State law requires children 12 and younger to wear a Coast Guard-approved life jacket or vest on vessels less than 19 feet long.
Seattle beaches with lifeguards
Beaches in Seattle opened Saturday. The following have lifeguards 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily:
East Green Lake
West Green Lake
Matthews Beach
Magnuson Park
Madison Beach
Madrona Beach
Seward Park
Pritchard Island
Mount Baker Beach
On the Web
For more information on beaches in Seattle, go to: www.seattle.gov/parks/Aquatics/beach.htm
For more information on water safety, go to: www.drowningprevention.org
Source: Public Health Seattle-King County