Men nine times more likely to drown on Australian coast than women

Melbourne, October 09 (ANI): Men drown more than women on Australian coasts, a new study has found.

According to the National Coastal Safety Report, released by SLSA, 83 out of 94 people who drowned last financial year were men.

SLSA coastal service safety manager Matt Thomson hinted that the figure reflected men generally take risks and ignore advice on swimming between the flags.

However, he mentioned that some deaths were also alcohol-related.

"Guys have got to wake up to themselves and do the right thing and be safe this summer," News.com.au quoted Thomson as saying.

The study noted that forty of the recorded coastal deaths occurred less than one kilometre from a patrolled area.

Thomson said: "Sometimes the flagged area is quite crowded or it's not as convenient (but) people need to remember that the flags are there for their own safety."

He claimed that in NSW, 25 cases could have been avoided if people had chosen to taken the precaution to swim between the nearby flags.

The report noted that 23,000 coastal rescues were undertaken by SLSA and council lifesavers last year, and also not a single death was recorded for a person swimming between the flags.

Most people who drowned in NSW were between the age group of 30 and 39.

While in South Australia the highest rate was for people aged between 40 and 50 that amounted to six of the deaths. (ANI)