Sports accidents: Mountains, snow and lakes claim the most lives
Most fatal sports accidents occur during hiking and mountaineering. But snow and water sports also claim many lives.
Every year, 181 people in Switzerland suffer fatal accidents during sporting activities. The Swiss Federal Accident Prevention Bureau (BFU) has analyzed sports accidents resulting in death over the last 15 years.
Most deaths, an average of 83 victims per year, are caused by mountain sports. In mountain hiking, people between 50 and 79 years of age are particularly often affected, while in mountaineering, the 20 to 49 year olds are most often involved in accidentsSorg. The BFU advises to always plan carefully when hiking or mountaineering, to assess a route correctly, to bring suitable equipment and to constantly check whether one is still well on the way.
An average of 39 deaths occur annually in snow sports. Most deaths occur during ski tours and freeriding. Snow sports enthusiasts who want to leave the secured terrain should therefore join an avalanche-experienced guide and have emergency equipment with them.
Water sports are also dangerous - as the headlines this summer have clearly shown. Every year, an average of 26 people are killed in water sports accidents. Most of them go under for no apparent reason and drown; but unexpected falls into the water can also result in death. Water sports accidents particularly often affect teenagers and young adults. According to the BFU, the most important preventive measures are to always keep an eye on children and, if necessary, to keep them within reach and to always wear life jackets when boating.
However, these figures say nothing about the specific risk of death from a particular sport - for this, it would have to be known how many active athletes there are and how often and for how long they practice the sport. According to the BFU, however, these figures are usually not known in enough detail to be able to make a concrete statement about the risk.
