A total of 16 people drowned in Finland during the month of June, according to preliminary figures released on Tuesday by the Finnish Swimming Teaching and Lifesaving Federation (acronymed in Finnish as SUH).
The grim tally is double the figure reported during the same month last year, when eight people drowned in Finnish waters.
Drowning deaths tend to spike around Midsummer, and this year was no different in that respect — as four people lost their lives in the water over the holiday weekend.
The issue of water safety has been widely discussed in Finland over the past year following a spate of high-profile drownings and near-drowning incidents, including 11 drowning deaths in a single weekend last July. Many of the incidents involved children and young people.
A spokesperson for SUH noted last summer that there had been a clear decline in swimming skills among children and young people in Finland, and the number of drowning incidents and close calls prompted Finnish authorities to introduce initiatives aimed at improving the swimming skills of children.
There has also been increased awareness of the problem across Finnish society.
Last week, locals at a popular beach in Helsinki formed a human chain to search for two missing 10-year-old girls, amid fears they were under the water. The girls were found safe and well.
While the number of drowning deaths in June was twice the level of the same month last year, the total number of drownings from January to June this year is on a par with the figure from the same period of 2025.
Generally, between 100 and 150 people die every year in Finland as a result of drowning, with about half that number occurring during summertime.
