Fatal Coastal Drowning: Body Recovery Times in NZ
Graphic designed by Lisa Couldrey, 2020
A post from our friend Dr. Jonathon Webber, Piha Surf Lifeguard, Co-Founder of IDRA and all around great guy!
Males make up 92% of New Zealanders who go missing off the country’s coastline.
That’s one key finding of a world-first study by The University of Auckland reviewing Water Safety New Zealand (WSNZ) drowning statistics and other data from 2008 to 2017 relating to 219 fatalities. The study, which was largest cohort of consecutive fatal coastal drowning cases, also found that the vast majority (96%) of missing people recovered weren’t wearing a lifejacket when found. It also found that only a small proportion (9%) of missing people weren’t located.
You can read the full, open access journal article here or check out some of the media stories on this study here, here or here.
The main purpose of the study was to clarify how long it took to locate the bodies of people who went missing in the ocean, and how far the bodies were displaced from the point of entry into the water. The study revealed that of those bodies found, most missing people (65%) were recovered within 24 hours of searches commencing and 64% were located within 1km of where they disappeared. The study was purely a descriptive analysis rather than an attempt to explain how the displacement occurred. The research team wanted to arrive at an understanding of these details to help inform our search and rescue agencies and assist victim support workers, water safety advocates, forensic and accident investigators, ocean scientists and the coroner in the course of their duties.
The study was co-authored by Dr Jonathon Webber (University of Auckland), Dr Kevin Moran (University of Auckland), Dr Claire French (University of Otago), Felicity Fozard (WSNZ) and Olivia Pearless (University of Auckland), principally drew on data from WSNZ’s DrownBase™ database, along with the National Coronial Information System (NCIS), Ministry of Justice records and media reports. The research also found the median age of drowning victims was 41.9 years. In terms of ethnicity, 37% were European NZ, 12% were Asian, 24% were Māori and 19% Pasifika, the latter two over-represented in the statistics compared with their percentage of the population. The most frequent activities the victims were involved in before going missing were boating (31%), swimming (20%), fishing (18%) and diving/snorkelling (16%). Older adults (> 42 years) were more likely to be engaged in boating, whereas for younger adults (≤ 42 years), it was swimming. Most missing persons were described as good swimmers (51%) and wearing everyday clothing (48%).
The study strongly reinforces the need to wear some form of approved flotation device when recreating or working in, on or around the water – and to preferably not undertake the activities alone. Limitations in the study design meant it was difficult to tell whether the missing person was recovered offshore or on the coastline, and several other variables weren’t clear or well-documented. Future research in this area, coupled with better on-scene data collection, could better inform real-time predictive modelling of where and when a missing person is likely to be found. Recommendations for future research include ocean and forensic scientists being involved in the study design to widen the application of the findings beyond the search and rescue sector along with an salient reminder that “fewer lives would be lost to drowning…if safe practices such as the wearing of lifejackets were employed when taking part in aquatic activities.”