Six deaths through drowning in region

Six people drowned across the Bay of Plenty region and dozens of others lost their lives in the water in New Zealand last year.
Water Safety New Zealand this week released its annual drowning figures revealed a total of 86 people drowned in 2010.
Two people drowned in Tauranga, two in the Opotiki District and two in the Whakatane District.
Three of the drownings took place offshore, two drowned in rivers and one drowned in tidal waters.
The national toll is the lowest annual toll since records began in 1980.
Water Safety general manager Matt Claridge said any reduction in the number of annual drowning was positive but there was still a lot that could be done to prevent people from drowning.
"Drowning continues to be the third-highest cause of accidental death in New Zealand, behind road vehicle crashes and falls.
"Despite the record-low annual toll and a dramatic reduction when compared with historical statistics that peaked at over 200 deaths in the mid-80s, the fact is that too many New Zealanders continue to needlessly lose their lives in and around the water," Mr Claridge said.
Regionally, Auckland had the highest number of drownings at 18, followed by Waikato with 13, and Northland at 9. There was one drowning each in Gisborne and Taranaki and none in Marlborough.
Of the six Bay of Plenty drownings, five were male and one was female.
Five of the deaths were categorised as recreational (where the person intended to be in the water for recreational purposes) and the sixth was described as "other activity" (either suicide, homicide or road vehicle incidents).
"Some drownings are tragic accidents but most are due to poor decision making or the failure to follow the most basic of safety precautions," Mr Claridge said.
Regionally, the West Coast had the highest drowning toll per capita (9.4 deaths per 100,000 people), followed by Northland (5.9).
The Bay of Plenty was ranked seventh out of eleven regions, with 2.7 deaths.
DROWNING FACTS
In 2009, seven people drowned in Bay of Plenty waters. The average for the past five years (2005-2009) for Bay of Plenty was eight drownings. In NZ January, February and December have the highest number of fatalities, 12 each month.