Five members of one family killed in tragic Syrian drowning

At least five members of one family drowned in the Orontes River in rebel-held northwestern Syria on Monday as they desperately tried to rescue each other after trying to swim in the Sheikh Issa area near Jisr al-Shughour area of Idlib province.

Adnan Al-Tayeb, a local activist, told The New Arab’s sister site Al-Araby Al-Jadeed that the dead were one woman, two children aged 12 and 15, and two men aged 25 and 60. He said that they came from the village of Sakariyah.

Al-Tayeb said that the incident began when one of the children drowned and his father made a  desperate attempt to rescue him.

The other family members drowned after trying to rescue both the father and his son.

The bodies of the five people were taken by the Syrian Civil Defence, also known as the White Helmets, to a hospital in the nearby village of Al-Qenya.

Tragic scenes from today's recovery of the bodies of 5 civilians who died by drowning in the waters of the Orontes River, west of #Idlib. pic.twitter.com/kenNth3GRS

— The White Helmets (@SyriaCivilDef) July 31, 2023

At least 25 people have died in drowning incidents in northwestern Syria this year, while the White Helmets have rescued at least 37, according to Syrian news website Enab Baladi.

“Nothing can ease the suffering of the family of the victims and no words can console them for the loss of their relatives who came to enjoy a family outing and relieve the stresses of life,” Samer Abaji, a volunteer with the White Helmets, told Al-Araby Al-Jadeed.

“We are sorry that the operation we carried out was recovery of bodies instead of rescue of people. The area they drowned in is very dangerous with strong and fast currents,” he added.

Abaji said that drowning incidents were increasing because people were failing to take necessary precautions and not appreciating the danger of local bodies of water and their currents.

Last Friday six people drowned in separate incidents in Aleppo and Deir al-Zor provinces in Syria.