The tragic epidemic killing almost as many as car crashes

There is a drowning epidemic in Australia, and there have almost been as many water deaths over this Christmas period as car fatalities. Stergos Kastelloriou reports.

Source: AAP

Since December 19, there have been 18 drowning deaths, with the latest tragedy occurring on Monday night, when former senior judge Richard Gee was found unconscious in a backyard pool in Sydney’s northern beaches. Another man was pulled from Lake Eucumbene in the Snowy Mountains on Monday. NSW Police had been searching for the man, aged in his 40s, who went missing on New Year’s Day about 3pm.

Also on Monday, a t wo-year-old boy was pulled from a backyard pool or pond in Fairfield West in Sydney. He has been rushed to hospital and his condition is unknown.