Vermont teen drowns in Winooski River: Here are some safety tips to keep in mind

Maleeha Syed
Burlington Free Press
Waters on the Winooski River where it empties into Lake Champlain have risen to flood this boarded up house on the Burlington side on Sunday, May 5, 2019.

Vermont State Police recovered the body of a Vermont teenager Saturday. Authorities said 18-year-old Padam Tiwari drowned in the Winooski River in Bolton. 

The police issued an update on the evening of June 1, indicating Tiwari was fishing with family when the incident occurred. The drowning incident happened close to "a suspended foot bridge" according to the release. 

Colchester Technical Rescue also helped in the recovery process, according to the news release. 

Seven people on average die each year by accidental drowning in Vermont, based on data from 2004 to 2013 according to the state's Department of Health; 36 percent of deaths from 2009 to 2013 by accidental drowning occurred in people aged 18 to 44 years old. 

Here are a couple safety tips to keep in mind in light of the incident.

Drowning safety tips

These are just a few of the steps you can take to protect yourself from potentially drowning. They are not necessarily related to the incident and do not encompass all the actions you should consider when it comes to your safety. 

Over 350 people between 5 and 24 years old drowned in 2017, according to research by the National Safety Council

Some tips offered by the council include:

  • Do not swim by yourself.
  • Don't enter water if you do not know how to swim. Additionally, make sure you are aware of how adept you are at handling different circumstances when swimming (for example, in a pool versus a lake). 
  • Don't jump on/push people around you.
  • Don't drink alcohol if you're swimming. 
  • Don't fight a current: "Stay calm and float with it, or swim parallel to the shore until you can swim free."
  • Make sure you know strategies for rescuing in the event of an incident, as well as CPR. 

Contact Maleeha Syed at mzsyed@freepressmedia.com or 802-495-6595. Follow her on Twitter @MaleehaSyed89