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SAFETY FIRST: Ms Krysania Tan (third from left) diving with some friends in Cebu in April. She takes extra care now after a diving scare two years ago. -- PHOTO: KRYSANIA TAN
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EVERY student here could soon be learning how to swim as part of the effort to reduce the number of water-related accidents.
The National Water Safety Council (NWSC) is currently talking to the Education Ministry and the Ministry for Community Development, Youth and Sports about making swimming lessons a part of school curriculum, Bukit Panjang Member of Parliament Teo Ho Pin said yesterday.
Currently some schools do teach swimming, but it is not compulsory.
'Primary school pupils and secondary school students are the high-risk group... they are very playful, they are growing up (but) have not learnt enough of swimming skills and water survival skills,' said Dr Teo, who is also NWSC chairman.
Last month, the NWSC announced a slew of programmes to improve water safety, including reviewing legislation and building standards for pools.
At least 15 people have drowned since January this year, with a recent case being that of six-year-old Anna Lim Pei Er.
A little after 5pm on June 2, her body was found in the swimming pool at Rasa Sentosa Resort. Efforts to revive her proved futile and she was taken to Singapore General Hospital, where she was pronounced dead.
Yesterday, Dr Teo focused also on safety measures for divers.
Speaking during a seminar on diving safety at Tan Tock Seng Hospital, he pointed out that there is currently no legislation regulating dive operators and training schools.
This makes it very difficult for a diving enthusiast to, for instance, check if a package operator is following safety procedures.
While some organisations, such as the Singapore Underwater Federation, have put up codes of practice to promote diving safety, they cannot be enforced.
Dr Teo added, however, that divers must take charge of their own safety.
'Do not rely on others to look after your safety... how to reduce your risk of drowning is to increase your knowledge of water safety,' he said.
'What we are also concerned about is people taking up diving without understanding their swimming skills, their physical fitness and medical conditions.'
His words come in the wake of two diving-related accidents involving Singaporeans this year.
In February, a diver was found dead in the waters off Pulau Hantu, while the other was found with serious injuries in the sea off Rottnest Island in Australia that same month and is now in a comatose state.
In an effort to acquaint divers with safety measures, Hyperbaric Medical Services - a joint organiser of last night's seminar - has launched a website at http://divingsafety.wordpress.com
It will allow divers, such as editorial manager Krysania Tan, to share experiences of accidents, near-misses and safety issues.
Ms Tan, 35, who has been diving for the past three years, said she is extra cautious now because of a brush with decompression sickness.
The condition - which can be fatal - occurs when bubbles are created in the blood because of diving too deep, too long or too many times.
Ms Tan noticed the symptoms - such as a prickly, itchy sensation of the skin and lethargy - shortly after a dive overseas two years ago.
She had to undergo a few days of treatment before she could dive again three months later.
But even today, she remembers not to dive too deep and is more cautious in the water.
tracysua@sph.com.sg
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