Free WiFi introduced at Australian beaches to help reduce drownings

Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-16 13:42:43|Editor: Shi Yinglun
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SYDNEY, Nov. 16 (Xinhua) -- Beaches in the Australia's State of Queensland will trial a free WiFi service this summer, as well as sending beach-goers safety notifications across a number of different languages in an attempt to reduce drownings.

Surf Life Saving Queensland (SLSQ) said on Friday that unlimited free WiFi will be provided at selected beaches, exclusively between the red and yellow flags which signify safe swimming areas.

Previously lifesavers have struggled to get swimmers to stay between the flags and they hope that the WiFi will help draw people into those areas.

The connection will also include a live, multilingual feed with updates about beach conditions, closures and safe swimming tips to reduce the language barriers which contribute to drownings.

In the past decade there have been 75 drownings at Queensland beaches, 31 of them international tourists or recent migrants.

Safety messages will be sent in English, Arabic, Hindi, simplified and traditional Chinese, Japanese, and Thai.

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