Vodka drunk Russians drowning daily in bid to beat summer heat

London, July 14 (ANI): Russians, many of them drunk on vodka, are drowning daily as they head to water to escape the current three-week heat wave, which may set a record of 37C this weekend.

Over 1,200 people have drowned across Russia in June this year, including 233 between July 5 and 12.

"Russia's Emergencies Ministry is very worried by the current situation. In the last day alone, 49 people drowned, including two children," The Scotsman quoted Vadim Seryogin, a department head at the ministry, as saying.

"The majority of those drowned were drunk. The children died because adults simply did not look after them," he added.

Russian president Dmitry Medvedev said on Tuesday that the heat was a major problem for Russian agriculture, echoing concerns from Russia's grain lobby, which said the country was undergoing the worst drought in 130 years of weather observations.

According to The Telegraph, Vodka-drinking groups - some with small children - can be seen at lakes and ponds in and around Moscow.

Last week, six children drowned in the Sea of Azov in southern Russia because the summer camp employees who were minding them were drunk.

Weather forecasters say the heat wave will last another week. (ANI)