Overseas visitors five times more likely to drown at Victorian beaches

A coroner’s report into the drowning of an Indian student on the Surf Coast has highlighted the risks international visitors face when swimming at Victorian beaches.

Jil Khokhara drowned after getting into trouble in waters off Marengo Beach near Apollo Bay in March 2024.

                

People born overseas are five times more likely to drown while swimming, with concerns international visitors have little to no knowledge of water safety.

It comes as a coroner’s report into the drowning of an Indian student at a Great Ocean Road highlighted the risks to foreigners when swimming at Victorian beaches.

Jil Jayeshbhai Khokhara drowned at an unpatrolled beach near Apollo Bay in March this year.

The 26-year-old had been swimming with two friends close to the shore at Marengo Beach when a current pulled them further out of sea.

Brianna Hurst was sitting at the beach at the time and rushed into the surf to haul the men to shore.

Brianna Hurst ran into the water to try and save the three men. Picture: Brad Fleet

They were unresponsive and Mr Khokhara sadly died at the scene while his two friends were flown to the Alfred Hospital.

Two weeks later, five people were caught in a rip at an unpatrolled beach near the fatal scene.

On New Year’s Day this year, John Holland from Ireland drowned at an Anglesea beach.

Irish media reported the 63-year-old was visiting his daughter who had recently moved to Melbourne.

Last month, a Chinese national died after she was swept off rocks near Cape Schanck on the Mornington Peninsula while in January, four members of the Indian community drowned at Phillip Island.

The coroner’s report stated Mr Khokhara was the 12th person born overseas to drown in Victoria since July 2023.

“Evidence shows that for new arrivals to Australia, water safety is rarely considered as a

priority and there is a lack of understanding of swimming safety,” coroner David Ryan stated.

“This includes a poor understanding, or misinterpretation, of the meaning of the red and yellow beach safety flags, and limited knowledge and awareness of general safety around where to swim and how to recognise dangers.”

Marengo Beach near Apollo Bay. Picture: Brad Fleet

This year’s National Drowning Report found a quarter of those who drowned in Australia were born overseas, mainly from India, China, Nepal and the UK.

A Life Saving Victoria (LSV) spokesman said people born overseas represented 42 per cent of all drownings in the past decade.

“Based on visitation data, individuals born overseas are five times more likely to drown while swimming,” he said.

“The last two summers have been the worst on record in terms of drowning incidents.”

The spokesman said many multicultural groups have little to no knowledge of water safety and lack swimming skills.

“Water safety is typically a low priority in their countries of origin, and this remains the case upon arrival in Australia,” he said.

Indian community leaders urged the state government to invest into multilingual water safety education earlier this year.

LSV has a dedicated multicultural department that delivers water safety activities and presentations.

The content summaries were created with the assistance of AI technology, then edited and approved for publication by an editor.

Originally published as Overseas visitors five times more likely to drown at Victorian beaches