A RNZ article.
Seventy-four New Zealanders drowned last year, with the highest December death toll recorded since 1996.’
Water Safety New Zealand has released its 2021 Drowning Report, which found its provisional preventable toll was the same as the previous year, despite much of the country being in lockdown.
Chief executive Daniel Gerrard said the toll was down from the 2015 to 2019 five-year average of 80, but it remained the leading cause of recreational death.