Information - As part of the epidemiological surveillance system for drowning incidents implemented between June 1 and September 30, Santé publique France has identified a reporting gap regarding emergency department visits for drowning in certain regions of mainland France, which is likely leading to an underestimation of the total number of drowning incidents reported in this epidemiological update. Please note that the indicators corresponding to drowning incidents resulting in death collected by Snosan and the analyses regarding the characteristics of drowning incidents (by age and location) previously published are not affected.
As a reminder, these data are preliminary and will need to be consolidated in the coming weeks.

Key Points

• Between June 1 and 28, 2023, 233 drownings were recorded in France, including 84 deaths (36%).

• Over these four weeks, the total number of drownings decreased by 25% between 2021 and 2023^1,2. During the first half of June 2021, the lifting of restrictions implemented to manage the COVID-19 pandemic, combined with weather conditions favorable for swimming, may have contributed to the high number of drownings during that period.

• The number of drownings resulting in death remained stable between 2021 and 2023. However, the proportion of fatalities (number of deaths relative to the total number of drownings) increased between 2021 and 2023: from 26% to 36%. While the number of drownings is thus lower between these two periods, they are more frequently fatal. This proportion of drownings resulting in death primarily affects adults: 62% versus 5% among children under 6. These adults are also the most affected by the increase observed between 2021 and 2023.

• The number of drownings and deaths remains high during the first four weeks of June 2023. Drownings affect all age groups and occur in all locations. These results underscore the need to continue drowning prevention efforts for all age groups.

¹ Chi-square tests were conducted for all comparisons between the 2021, 2022, and 2023 data; the results presented are statistically significant at the 5% level.
² The 2021 data from this surveillance system are not comparable to those from the 2021 NOYADES survey conducted by Santé publique France due to a different data collection methodology.