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An average of 200 people drown in Finland every year.

ASIDE from an abundance of daylight that leaves most newcomers to these shores scratching their heads, summer in Finland is also renowned for something less than amusing, with many dying each year because of drowning accidents.

An average of 200 people drown in Finland every year, the public’s fascination with such unfortunate statistics peaking with the annual figure reported in the media of how many people drowned during the juhannus weekend.

Now, hopefully by the time you read this you will have recovered from your juhannus celebrations: the annual Midsummer revelries characterised by beautiful surroundings, bonfires, good company, enough alcohol to kill a Nordic pony – and an abundance of men losing their balance and falling overboard while urinating off the side of their boats.

According to the Finnish Association for Swimming Instruction and Life Saving (SUH) the most important factors that contribute to the large number of deaths by drowning are alcohol and the wrong attitude.

The issue may be of even greater concern than what has been reported by SUH, however, with recent reports from the Accident Investigation Board disputing SUH’s figure of 167 drowning deaths last year, stating that there have been 330 water-related deaths between April last year and March this year.

James O’Sullivan