100th life saved in Mount Lavinia beach:

Sri Lanka Coast Guards spearhead lifeguard services

The World Health Organisation is keeping a tab on health hazards across the globe and has identified drowning as the third leading cause of 'unintentional injury deaths' worldwide, accounting for seven percent of all injury-related deaths as an estimated 388,000 annual drowning deaths reported according to the 2004 figures across the globe.

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According to Dr. Wijaya Godakumbura who made a presentation on drowning deaths in Sri Lanka has said that drowning has become a serious issue in Sri Lanka as around 1050 deaths are recorded annually, claiming mostly lives of children and young adults. In the context of a booming tourism industry, Sri Lanka attracts tourists towards the coastal belt and has become an issue that merits attention.

To address this issue, the Life Saving Association of Sri Lanka which is more than a 100 -years- old, acting as a national body for life saving and water safety in Sri Lanka deployed life savers in Sri Lankan beaches as volunteers. Apart from them Sri Lanka Police Lifesavings Unit which consists of trained life savers from the Police and ST, it has also done commendable lifesaving work in the Arugam Bay area.

Therefore, the requirement of a permanent body to look after life saving aspects was raised in the recent past. On identifying the importance of providing lifeguard services to the public, the Sri Lanka Coast Guard Department(SLCG) set up in 2009 to ensure the security, safety and serenity of the maritime environment while enforcing laws pertaining to the sea, took prompt action to expand its lifeguard services to many beach areas mainly in the Western and Southern regions.

Explaining the initial commitment by the Department in achieving this important milestone, the SLCG says that as its motto being "Saving Lives at sea", they started their own lifesaving unit in a humble way a few years back with the intention of providing a professional lifesaving service to Sri Lanka.

"We took the cue from the Australian Life Guard service, New South Wales, the largest lifeguard service in Australia", a spokesman for SLCG said.

With the setting up of the Sri Lanka Coast Guard lifesaving unit in 2009, emphasis was given to the expansion of activities along the coastal areas.

"The recent rapid development in the tourism industry has attracted a large number of local as well as foreign tourists to the beaches around the country. Statistics indicate that tourist arrivals in June have increased by 12.8 percent compared to the corresponding period last year and it is a total of 73,628 tourists who have arrived in the country in June. While most of the tourists are attracted to the beaches, ensuring safety in the beaches to engage in recreational activities remains an important aspect of our operations", he said.

The construction of the first lifesaving post took place at the Wellawatta beach along the Marine Drive in 2012. Construction of similar lifesaving posts South of the Wellawatta beach up to Mirissa took place in 2013.

"With these expansions completed, lifesaving posts have been set up in Mount Lavinia, Panadura, Balapitiya and Mirissa. Apart from these lifeguard posts, lifeguards are stationed in Galle Face, Polhena, Kirinda and Nilaweli", he said.

Schoolboys being shown the use of life jackets

"The lifeguard service initiated by the Sri Lankan Coast Guards have so far rescued 100 lives from the date of starting their operations after rescuing the lives of 79 Sri Lankans and 21 foreigners from France, China, Korea, Australia, Denmark, Thailand, UK, Nepal and Spain. The presence of lifeguards at a beach undoubtedly assures the safety of the tourists", the spokesman said.

The lifesaving unit of the Sri Lanka Coast Guard reached the important milestone of rescuing the 100th life with the rescue of Ms. GM Ronni Samanthi (37) on August 3 in the Mt. Lavinia seas. Phase two of the project will focus on constructing lifesaving posts in these locations and expand them into tourist attracted beach areas in the North-West, North and East coasts of the country.

"Once the duty of a lifeguard is over with dusk, they continue to remain and carryout surveillance duty. The future plan of setting up more lifesaving posts along the coast will add depth to maritime surveillance capabilities and will also serve as a deterrent to illegal activities taking place in the coastal areas and the observation of the change in sea conditions. We are aware that even with the latest equipment the prior warning of a tsunami situation may be delayed.

However, SLCG Life Savers at lifesaving posts will observe receding sea water levels, which is the best indication of an incoming tsunami wave and we will be able to warn the public even if the latest communication equipment fails", he said.

The success of the Coast Guard lifesaving unit is largely attributed to the dedication and professionalism of the 76 lifeguards as these lifeguards undergo special training at the Coast Guard's Life Saving Training School at Balapitiya and obtain professional qualifications from Coast Guard instructors in levels such as Basic, Resuscitation, Intermediate and the Bronze medal.

Apart from providing training to lifeguards, the Balapitiya training school also conducts lifesaving training for youth in the area.

"Over 30 youth have been so far trained and there is a demand from youth in area as this training has provided them with an added qualification to find jobs in the tourism field, especially in hotels as lifeguards, on the beach and near swimming pools", the spokesman said.

The SLCG lifesaving Training School is affiliated to the Sri Lanka lifesaving Association and Royal lifesaving Association, UK. The certificate issued by this training school has world-wide recognition.

"During a recent visit by the Director General of SLCG to Australia, he met officials of the Surf Lifesaving Association of Australia in Sydney and the Australian Surf Lifesaving Association and and they have agreed to provide an instructor to the SLCG lifesaving training school", the spokesman said.

Awareness programs and educating the community on lifeguard practices and sea safety is another aspect they promote. Over 650 fishermen and 1200 civilians educate the public on the importance of sea safety and related aspects.

"The importance of this training was seen during the recent bad weather conditions which resulted in the loss of lives of many fishermen. A youth who underwent training at the Balapitiya lifesaving school could organise others to help rescue fishermen. This is exactly what the Coast Guard expects by conducting such training, as natural disasters give no or minimum warning for us to prepare. As the first to find out, they have a great role to play during a time of a disaster," he said.

They have also taken the initiative to educate school children who live along the coastal areas of the importance of knowing the basics of lifesaving and first aid.

A life saver explains life-saving methods to a group of schoolchildren

"Well over 2500 students have been educated this year alone and their level of confidence is much higher and possesses a great deal of knowledge about drowning and related issues. In addition to above, tailor made lifesaving training for 90 cadets from the Sri Lanka Cadet Corps have been conducted in the recent past", he added.

The concept of 'educating the young to face the future with a better preparedness' is what the Coast Guard expects from all these attempts. On identifying the importance in training personnel involved in disaster management duties, Coast Guard recently completed the first ever specialised lifesaving training program conducted for the Sri Lanka Army, Air Force and Disaster Management Centre.

"The future lifesaving action plan of the Coast Guard mainly focus on three main pillars; Awareness, Training and Safety. The prime objective of these pillars is to ensure safety of lives and provide a safe and secure marine environment for the common public", he added.

Apart from that the Sri Lanka Coast Guard is also carrying out research work to produce a National Coastal Safety Report and SLCG is conducting research work to publish a National Coastal Safety Report end of this year which will give a national overview of coastal drowning details by time, month, activity and age group and gender .

"When you are on holiday at any popular beach in Sri Lanka, please watch for the 'Red' and 'Yellow' flags. Be safe and always swim between the 'Red' and 'Yellow' flags. You and your families will be safe with professional SLCG lifesavers observing you. Log on to the SLCG website and click "Sri Lanka Coast Guard Life Saving" for the complete list of 100 lives saved and the details.

This effort of the Coast Guards will undoubtedly contribute to the betterment of the country in the long run", giving emphasis on the safety aspect when they are in the sea the spokesman said.

"We should also be grateful to the guidance and assistance given by the Secretary, Ministry of Defence and Urban Development, Basil Rajapaksa and the Commander of the Navy in our efforts", he said.

- Ranil