Khaberni - Syria registered 110 drowning deaths from the beginning of 2026 until the end of July, according to what was revealed by the Media and Communications Department in the Ministry of Emergency and Disaster Management.
A source in the department told "Syria Now" that July alone witnessed the death of 42 people by drowning, including 26 children and women.
The variety of causes of water-related disasters
The rise in drowning victims is attributed to accidents related to water transport and random swimming, with the capsizing of a river ferry in the Euphrates River in Deir ez-Zor governorate being one of the major tragedies in recent months, resulting in the death of 8 people, including 5 children, after the engine of a primitive ferry failed causing it to collide with a solid bridge, and they were swept away by strong water currents before help could arrive.
In the context of the risks accompanying swimming, the Ministry of Emergency and Disaster Management revealed its field teams' response to 4 drowning reports in one day on July 24, distributed across several provinces, resulting in 4 fatalities, where two siblings died in an irrigation channel in eastern Aleppo countryside, a girl died in the Orontes River (with teams managing to save another girl), while a young man died on the beaches of Tartus while swimming in the sea.
Resumption of field awareness
Following the deterioration in water safety rates, the ministry relaunched the "Together Our Euphrates is Safe 2" campaign last Friday in Deir ez-Zor governorate - after launching it at the beginning of last month - in collaboration with the Syrian Civil Defense, UNICEF, and the "Ray of Hope" project, to reduce risky behaviors and educate locals and children about the dangers of swimming in open and flowing waters.
Albara Alhamd, a director in the operations of the Emergency and Disaster Management Directorate, explained that the continuation of these field and educational campaigns "directly aims to reduce drowning rates in the Euphrates River and water bodies across all regions."
For her part, UNICEF’s Social Behavior Change Program Coordinator, Sarah Al Hajji, affirmed that the campaign "focuses on modifying incorrect concepts and behaviors among children and adolescents to protect them from the danger of water currents."
In May, the Minister of Emergency and Disaster Management Raed Al Saleh addressed everyone swimming in the Euphrates River that "your life is precious," urging them not to "risk swimming and to assist in educating children so we do not lose more lives."
The message came after a video spread of a young man sarcastically addressing the minister and calling his friends to swim in the river.
