Angola recorded more than 3,600 deaths in the last five bathing seasons, of which 760 occurred between 2025 and 2026, released the Civil Protection and Fire Department (SPCB).
© Lusa
28/09/2026
by
Lusa
Segundo o comandante nacional do SPCB, commissar Bravo Mendes, in the last five bathing seasons, 3,665 drowning deaths were recorded, with an annual average of 600 cases, and 75% of the victims were men aged between 9 and 45 years, occurring with higher incidence in cacimbas, lagoons and rivers.
In the last bathing season, there were 762 drowning deaths, an increase of 82 cases compared to the homologous period.
In his opening intervention of the bathing season 2026/2027, held last weekend, in the province of Benguela, Bravo Mendes pointed out the need to fight risk behaviors that continue to contribute to the occurrence of accidents, especially the entry into water under alcohol.
The use of unsupervised or interdicted areas, disrespect for signs and guidance from lifeguards, and exposure of children and adolescents to aquatic environments without proper supervision are also among the causes of drowning.
“ However, despite the constraints and vulnerability factors identified, the degree of readiness and the increase of more than 500 lifeguards in the previous period, resulted in the rescue of more than 123 citizens in imminence of death by drowning, as well as in the execution of about 147 thousand public awareness campaigns ", said.
Bravo Mendes stressed that the bathing season begins in a context that requires greater preparation, surveillance and prevention capacity, taking into account the climatic conditions foreseen for the period 2026/2027, marked by the phenomenon El Niño, predicted with strong to very strong intensity.