Drowning kills 372,000 people each year: WHO

WHO reports that drowning is among the 10 leading causes of death for children and young people globally.

A WHO report found that roughly 372,000 people die from drowning each year, and 90 percent of those deaths occur in low and middle-income countries.

The highest rates of deaths as a result of drowning are in the African, South-East Asia and Western Pacific regions.

The data show more than half of drowning deaths happen to people under age 25, with the highest rates among children under age five.

WHO Director for the Department for Management of Non-communicable Diseases, Disability, Violence and Injury Prevention, Dr Etienne Krug said 40 people drown every hour, in circumstances both mundane and catastrophic.

VOA