CANBERRA, Jan. 2 (Xinhua) -- Nearly 50 people drowned in Australia in December, a 51 percent increase from 2017, data revealed on Wednesday.
According to figures from Royal Life Saving Australia, 47 people drowned between Dec. 1 and Jan. 1, up from 31 the previous year.
However, only 21 of those drowning occurred at Australia's beaches, compared to 23 in 2017.
Five adult males drowned on New Year's Day alone with all five to be subject to coronial investigations.
Craig Roberts, Royal Life Saving Australia's national operations manager, said summer heatwaves were drawing more people to beaches, pools and inland waterways.
He said the majority of victims were familiar with the area they were swimming in but overestimated their fitness.
"We have seen a large number of adult males who have drowned not only this summer, but over the last five or six years at an increasing rate, and that's largely due to a number of people going into the water without realizing they are not as fit as they used to be," Roberts told the Guardian Australia.
Approximately 27 percent of those who have drowned in Australia in the last decade were born overseas.
However, more than half of those had lived in Australia for more than 10 years at the time of their death.
According to the data, 76 percent of cases where one person tried to save another from downing ended with the rescuer drowning while the other person survived.
"It's a tough decision but if you are going to go into the water (to attempt a rescue) please make sure that you have the skills to do so," Roberts said.
