One child died from drowning in the Algarve between January and August this year, Faro Hospital has revealed.
There were also five other cases, in the sea, swimming pools and a fountain, in which the children, aged between three and nine, survived.
The figures were revealed at a press conference at the Hospital de Faro, which also gave an assessment of a course of Paediatric Basic Life Support for parents, attended by 162 adults in July and August.
During the whole of 2009, two children died from drowning in the region, with 13 other cases of risk of drowning recorded, most in private swimming pools.
Meanwhile, in 2009 the Algarve registered its lowest child mortality rate ever, at 2.5 deaths of children under one per 1,000 births.
A spokesman for the Algarve Health Administration said: “This is the lowest ever recorded in the region. The Algarve has reached a significant decline in child mortality over the past 30 years.”
