Forensic Epidemiological Study of Drowning Deaths in a Cosmopolitan City of Karnataka

Abstract

Drowning is one of the leading causes of unintentional injury death worldwide, amounting to about 7% of all
injury-related deaths. The estimated world-wide annual deaths due to drowning is said to be around 2,36,000.
Children, males and individuals with increased access to water are most at risk of drowning. In India there exists
proximity of people with the water bodies like rivers, canals, wells or ponds. All these water bodies are easily
accessible and there are hardly any preventive or safety measures. This major public health problem related to
drowning can be prevented by frequently studying data from the medicolegal registers, which is primarily the
aim of this study.