Inflatable mattresses, chambers, etc.

Very often, when people are relaxing on the water, they use various inflatable items. Swimming on them is dangerous, and for a person who cannot swim, it often ends tragically. Inflatable chambers and mattresses are very light; even a slight wind and current are enough to carry them long distances. It only takes a few minutes of distraction – and the shore is out of reach. A mattress can be swamped by a wave, it can slip out from under a swimmer and cover them completely. In addition, any inflatable item may have a hidden defect that is not always possible to detect in time: air may escape from it, and it will lose buoyancy at any moment.

On June 29, a 12-year-old boy drowned in the Pinsk district. The tragedy occurred on an abandoned pond near the village of Gankovichi. Two boys – cousins – were there without adults. The children were swimming, using a device made of empty plastic bottles. One of the brothers accidentally slipped from the makeshift raft into the water. The boy could not swim and began to drown. His brother started calling for help. A woman who was nearby heard the screams and called rescuers. Unfortunately, the boy could not be saved. He was pulled from a depth of two meters, 5 m from the shore.

On July 6, a 5-year-old girl was miraculously saved on Yubileiny Lake in Grodno. The child was relaxing by the water with her mother. The girl was swimming in an inflatable ring. A gust of wind began to carry it away from the shore. The girl got scared, got out of the ring to return to her mother, and found herself in deep water. Rescuers arrived at the scene by boat, pulled the child out of the water, and handed her over to her mother. Fortunately, everything ended well.

Important! Any improvised inflatable means can slip out of hands, deflate for some reason, and a person will end up in the water. It is forbidden: - to use inflatable mattresses, rings, chambers, and other inflatable items for swimming, as they are not buoyancy aids.