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It took more than four minutes for anyone to notice the five-year-old boy who appeared to have drowned in a small pool within touching distance of families and other children.
When drowning experts reviewed a video showing the boy floating face down for several minutes, they were shocked. It was nearly impossible to watch, even for people whose work is saving people from drowning. But the unconscious boy was resuscitated and survived. Unlike many non-fatal drownings, he suffered no lifelong injuries.
About 320,000 people die from drowning every year, including an average of 283 in Australia, according to the World Health Organisation.
Queensland survivors of child sexual abuse have been paid out $116 million in compensation through the national redress scheme, it can be revealed. It comes as more big name organisations sign up to the scheme, which was announced in the wake of the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, including Swimming Australian, Surf Life Saving Australia and St Vincent de Pauls. There have been 2661 applications received from Queensland, with 1354 payments made to date, totalling $116.6 million. Minister for Families and Social Services Anne Ruston will reveal more institutions have signed up to the national redress scheme for survivors of child sexual abuse. Picture: Gary Ramage
With the global pandemic bringing overseas travel to a grinding halt, the number of drownings in Australia have dramatically risen as inexperienced swimmers flock to unfamiliar beaches and waterways to get their holiday fix.
December alone has seen 20 individuals drown, compared to 14 across the entire 2019 summer, according to statistics from the Royal Life Saving Society s Summer Drowning Toll.
The figure includes six lives lost in Queensland, five in Victoria, four in Western Australia, one in the Northern Territory and two each in NSW and the ACT.
Ninety per cent of the victims have been male, according to The Australian.
Fathers Richard Capbagan and Denny Jade Caballa are among the tragic statistics, with the pair losing their lives in early December at Teewah Beach, north of Noosa, on Queensland s Sunshine Coast.
And other stories from the stranger side of life
22 Dec 2020
A man who dressed as Santa Claus and took to the skies above California with his paraglider had to be rescued after becoming entangled in power lines. The fire department in Sacramento released a video showing the man dressed as Santa in the pilot’s seat of the fan-powered aircraft as it dangled above the street. After releasing him, they said: “We made sure Old St Nick will use his reindeer when he sees you later this year.”
‘Crazy beast’ defied evolution 66m years ago
An ancient “crazy beast” lived alongside dinosaurs on Madagascar 66 million years ago, say researchers. The Adalatherium hui mammal was about the size of a modern cat and has amazed experts. “It is difficult to imagine that a mammal like Adalatherium could have evolved; it bends and even breaks a lot of rules,” said one.
Snakes Might Be Lurking Under Massive Amounts of Sea-foam in Australia Andrea Romano
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Sea-foam tends to conjure up peaceful or playful images in our minds, but there could be some nightmarish dangers lurking underneath.
Severe storms have washed up a copious amount of sea-foam on beaches in New South Wales and Queensland, Australia, according to
. Although the foam may look harmless, and is generally a naturally-occurring phenomenon, experts are warning that it could have many hidden dangers including sea snakes.
“Health-wise it’s probably not great to let your kids play in it,” said Nathan Fife, Gold Coast Lifesaving services supervisor at Surf Lifesaving Australia, to