Drowning is a form of suffocation that occurs when water gets into the lungs. This means that the affected person cannot properly breathe because the lungs become weighed down, and oxygen cannot reach the heart. This results in the body shutting down and can lead to death. 

Drowning can only take a few minutes to happen. People can even die by drowning up to 48 hours after the incident — this is known as secondary drowning and happens due to the build-up of water in the lungs. 

Unfortunately, between 1 July 2019 and 30 June 2020, there were 752 drowning incidents in Australia, 248 of which were fatal. 

Possible causes for drowning include: 

• Falling into the water from a boat 
• Inability to swim 
• Lack of sufficient fencing and supervision