Multiple Fatality Incidents on School and Youth Group Camps and Excursions – Water-Based Activities: Lessons for Prevention

Abstract

This chapter examines prevention of catastrophic outdoor education incidents involving water. It defines catastrophic incidents as having three or more fatalities. It considers the extent to which past catastrophic incidents could have been prevented had potential lessons from earlier incidents been known and acted on. Sixty-two catastrophic incidents since 1900 are examined, involving almost 400 deaths. Large-scale disasters, caused by events such as hurricanes or tsunamis were not considered. Ferry or shipping disasters are considered in Chap. 5. The chapter begins with a focussed review of literature on drowning prevention, including direct evidence of successful prevention (as distinct from counter-factual case-based evidence), and research on cold-water immersion. The circumstantial nature of immersion deaths and critical role of expert planning for and supervision of youths in water based outdoor education is examined using the 1993 Lyme Bay tragedy as an example. Eighteen similar cases are then examined, involving fleets of small craft on open water. Another nine open water cases involved somewhat different circumstances, but still exhibited patterns of similarity sufficient to inform future prevention. A strong relationship between environmental circumstances, the unfolding of tragedy, and prevention lessons is further established by examination of ocean shore incidents, floods, moving water, and incidents in which attempts to rescue a single victim resulted in multiple deaths.