WaterSafety

After the first anniversary of two teenage boys drowning on holiday, their loved ones have reminded people of the dangers of swimming in open water.

Jason Varghese, 15, and his older cousin Joel Aniyankunj, 19, were on holiday in Austria last summer, and both drowned while on a boat trip with their family members on August 23, 2018.

Following on from the tragic accident Jason’s and Joel’s loved ones are urging young people not to swim in open water – both at home and on holiday – while also reaching out to parents to raise awareness and save others the heartache they have experienced.

Jason’s mum, Suby Varghese, said: “We all went on a much-awaited holiday to visit family members in Austria. The heat became too much for us so our relatives decided that a boating trip would be nice and that the kids would go for a swim – so we gave them their swimming costumes and off they went.

“We received a call from relatives to say ‘you need to come’, but they didn’t tell us anymore. Jason had gone into the water for a swim but soon got into distress. Joel, our nephew, went in the water to help Jason, then they both disappeared under the water.”

Emergency services arrived quickly but couldn’t find Jason and Joel due to the thick undergrowth.

Suby continued: “Both boys were strong swimmers but they became tangled in the weeds. The search went on for hours and professional divers found them later in the day.

“Parents should be aware of dangers around open water – we don’t want any other family to go through what we have – we miss them every day. They were so full of life and we can’t get over the fact they’re still not here – it’s still very raw.

“They were loving, caring boys. The fact that they’re not here is heart-breaking – had we known the dangers we wouldn’t have sent them that day. Please don’t swim in open water.”

Robbie Woodcock and Sam Gibbons, both 16, shared their experiences of losing one of their best friends and the impact it has had on them

Robbie said: “Last year I was talking to Jason before he went on holiday about joining the gym, and a few days later I got a message to say he had drowned on holiday.

“Since Jason has passed away we all miss him loads, especially at certain times, like the school prom – which he was really looking forward to. It’s a shame he wasn’t there with us.

“Please don’t swim in open water – we don’t want anyone to go through what we all have since losing Jason.”

Sam said: “I was on holiday at the same time as Jason and I got a text from Robbie. At first I didn’t believe it because we had recently all been talking in a group, and before that we had played football together. It hit us all hard.

“We just feel that without Jason here we miss his presence and laughter. In the limo for our prom it just wasn’t the same. We notice him missing from our group of friends – there’s always one person missing, and that’s Jason.”

The important water safety messages reinforce Safe4Summer – a partnership campaign between GMFRS, Greater Manchester Police, and the 10 local authorities in Greater Manchester.

Area Manager Damian O’Rourke from Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service said: “We really appreciate Jason and Joel’s loved ones supporting our water safety campaigns and work. Hearing from people who have lost family members and friends is extremely sad but really helps strengthen our safety messages and advice, with the ultimate aim of keeping people out of harm’s way.

“This year’s partnership campaign Safe4Summer focuses on a number of key themes, including water safety – so our new suite of case studies involving Jason’s mum, friends and teacher, really do play an important role in reaching out to different audiences – whether that be to young people directly, or their parents and other family members.

“We don’t want to stop people having fun, however, safety is paramount so we want to remind young people, and their parents and carers, of the dangers associated with our water ways – so please take a look at our Safe4Summer website and watch the new videos highlighting just how easy people can drown in open water, and the heartache caused by such incidents.”

The father of Charlie Pope has paid tribute to his son on the one-year anniversary of his death.

The 19-year-old, a University of Manchester student, was reported missing in the early hours of March 1 last year and was found in Rochdale Canal in the city centre the following day.

Charlie’s heartbreaking death prompted a campaign calling for a review into the safety around Manchester’s waterways.

Father Nick Pope said: “It does not feel like a year. Sometimes it feels like it has gone by in a flash, other times it feels like it’s never ending.

“We have good days and bad days, and the bad days are very bad. Everybody deals with it differently and in their own way. As a family, we kind of all have our own way of dealing with it. This week is difficult for us and close friends as well, it brings it all back.”

The popular student’s death thrust canal safety into the spotlight. An independent safety review was commissioned by the Manchester Water Safety Partnership, which proposed a host of recommendations after confirming there had been 28 water-related deaths in the city centre zone since 2007.

Nick, who was recently appointed as a special advisor to the Manchester Water Safety Partnership, believes campaigners have had a massive affect.

He said: “When you look back, what does seem remarkable is how much we have achieved. People should be very proud, they can say we made a difference. We can change things for the better.

“From a personal perspective, we’re just pleased and proud we have honoured Charlie. Hopefully we have made a change that will prevent further deaths. If that’s the case, that’s a fantastic outcome.”

Charlie’s family will mark the first anniversary of life without their youngest son on Friday 1 March, with a small gathering, before joining his friends at a pub.

In an attempt to turn the anniversary from a “negative” into a “positive”, the heartbroken family have named March 1 “Charlie’s Good Deed Day”.

The family hope Charlie will be remembered through acts of random kindness from strangers across the North East and beyond.

Nick said: “We were thinking about the anniversary and what we could do to make it a more positive day.

“We talked about it as a family, and this is the sort of thing Charlie would like. It’s turning a negative into something more positive. It is something simple everyone can celebrate and get involved in.”

Find out more about Charlie’s Good Deed Day.

Read full story and interview from the Manchester Evening News.

The Manchester Water Safety Partnership has unveiled Nick Pope as a special advisor as they look to improve safety around Manchester’s waterways. 

Nick has become an advocate for water safety following the tragic death of his son, Charlie, in the Rochdale Canal in March 2018.

Welcoming Nick, Chairman of the Water Safety Partnership, David Wilson said: “I am really pleased to have Nick join the Partnership to assess and challenge what we do and work together to reduce deaths from drowning in the waterways of Manchester.

“The Manchester Water Safety Partnership has been working for a number of years to improve the safety of the waterways in the city centre and, although the number of deaths has reduced, we firmly believe that one death is one too many. We are committed to continuing our work by implementing all the recommendations of the RoSPA report which has provided us with expert guidance in water accident prevention”.

Following his appointment, Nick said: “Since Charlie’s death there has been action taken and I commend the Partnership for commissioning the independent report and committing themselves to implementing that in full. I think it will go a long way to preventing future deaths.

“Charlie was a cracking lad who loved Manchester and I would like to thank everyone there for their support, by working together I hope we will see change and prevent similar incidents in the future”.  

Following two deaths in Manchester’s waterways in early 2018, the Manchester Partnership commissioned the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) to write an independent report on the safety of Greater Manchester’s waterways.

Having received the report they have already begun addressing some of the recommendations and are formulating a comprehensive action plan to address the recommendations in full.

Don’t Drink and Drown is a national campaign by the Royal Life Saving Society UK that warns drinkers to steer clear of walking by or entering water when under the influence of alcohol. A national campaign week will run from 3 to 9 December 2018.

Research indicates that around a quarter of all adult drowning victims have alcohol in their bloodstream.

The campaign was launched following a string of tragic student drownings. It has two targeted time frames through the year where RLSS UK and partners push messaging these are September and December.

The Evidence

There were 366 accidental drownings involving alcohol and/or drugs in the United Kingdom from 2012-2016, that’s an average of 73 per year.

Visit the RLSS UK website for more information and campaign materials.