Risk taking young men have been warned not to try swimming in Melbourne’s Yarra River, the deadliest inland river per metre in Australia.
Alcohol and drugs have led to a number of tourists and local young men daring each other to swim in the river, contributing to regular drownings.
In fact in the last 15 years there have been 37 drownings in the river, whereas the Murray river which is 10 times longer, had 70 deaths.
According to a Life Saving Victoria spokesperson, alcohol is a major contributor. It’s actually illegal to swim in the Yarra River in the CBD but people, often intoxicated dare each other to swim across it. While it may appear easy, there are currents, lack of visibility and things lying underneath that contribute to drownings, the spokesperson said.