Over 180 people rescued in Belarus during 2026 swimming season

During the bathing season of 2026 (May-September), 181 people were rescued in Belarus, 147 of them were rescued by OSVOD workers. About this at the summing up of the season said the Chairman of the Minsk city organization OSVOD Dmitry Matyushko, writes BelTA.

Among those rescued were 62 minors, 79% of whom were rescued by Osvoda workers. During the same period in 2025, 115 people were rescued, including 35 minors. Thus, the number of rescued increased by 57 percent, said Dmitry Matyushko.

At the same time, according to OSVOD, 145 people drowned during the swimming season in Belarus. For the same period last year — 150. Thus, the number of deaths decreased by 3%. “Falling into the water killed 57 people, swimming — 51, fishing from the shore — 20, from the boat — 6, during the operation of swimming equipment — 5. Another 6 people died under other circumstances, said the chairman of the Minsk city organization OSVOD.

During the swimming season, 19 people, including four minors, were rescued on the reservoirs of Minsk, and 15 people were rescued by OSVOD employees. In 2025, the total number of people rescued was also 19, two of them minors. At the same time, Osvod employees rescued 16 people. Thus, the total number of rescues remained at the same level, but in 2026 the number of minors among those rescued increased from two to four. This dynamic suggests the need to strengthen preventive work with children and adolescents, as well as more actively conduct raids in places of mass recreation near the water, said Dmitry Matyushko.

In Minsk during the season drowned nine people, and all of them were intoxicated. “Seven people died while swimming, one while fishing from the shore, another after falling into the water,” he added.

Analysis of incidents shows that persistent risk factors include alcohol intoxication and bathing in the dark. “The most tragedies occurred in June. After that, we intensified our work in cooperation with the units of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Ministry of Emergencies, which allowed us to further reduce the number of deaths by more than half, said the Chairman of the Minsk City Organization OSVOD.

At the same time, according to him, the number of drowned in Minsk in 2026 tripled the figure of 2025. The structure of the risks has also changed: this year there were cases of deaths in the area of rescue facilities, where no incidents were recorded a year earlier. As the chairman of the Minsk City Organization noted, almost half of all cases occurred in the Soviet district, and the most risky for a number of years remains the site in the area of responsibility of the Tsnyanskaya rescue station. The key factor of danger in 2026 was staying near the water and bathing in a state of intoxication: it was present in all recorded deaths. I hope that experience, conclusions and additional measures will help us reduce the risk of death in the upcoming season, said Dmitry Matyushko.

Deputy Chairman of the Minsk City Executive Committee Oleg Korzun noted that the Minsk City Organization OSVOD conducted serious work this swimming season, which gave certain results. According to him, Minsk has 23 recreation areas near the water. “But at the same time, people do not protect themselves. During the swimming season, nine people died. This is largely due to the attitude of people to the situation in which they find themselves. Responsibly approach to safety should and OSVOD, and people who are nearby, in the same recreation areas to prevent death on the water. After all, each such death is primarily a disaster for the family. We must prevent such cases and do everything possible to prevent, he said.

According to Oleg Korzun, to prevent the death of people on the water, the city and OSVOD should pay attention to promising areas of work: the introduction of artificial intelligence, an increase in the number of video surveillance cameras and updating the equipment used by the organization.