As North Korean children play in water to escape the summer heat, parents worry about the drownings that happen around this time every year.
A source in North Pyongan province told Daily NK recently that pools dug by gold miners alongside waterways in Majang village of Unsan county and surrounding areas serve as swimming holes for children during summer.
But these pools can be surprisingly deep, with dangerous sand and gravel on the bottom that increases the risk of drowning.
Early this month, a 7-year-old boy drowned while playing in the water with his older brother.
“Children flock to the water to play while their parents are off at work during the day. Every year, children get pulled into the depths and drown. The latest accident happened while the adults were at work,” the source said.
When the children cried for help, workers from a nearby farm rushed down and pulled the boy out of the water, but it was too late to save his life.
Gold mining creates deadly hazards
Angry locals blame the yearly accidents on “reckless dredging of riverbeds by organizations panning for gold to cover monetary quotas due to the party.”
“These pools formed when gold miners dug up the riverbed with excavators. There are dangerous spots where not even adults can touch the bottom. Children who don’t know better often get stuck in those spots and drown. For that reason, locals describe the pools as death traps for their children,” the source said.
Despite the drownings that happen every year, authorities have done nothing to prevent accidents, leaving parents with little choice but to urge their children to play in shallow water and stay out of the deep pools, the source said.
“Given the lack of safety measures or proper surveys, parents can only ask their children to be careful. That’s why summer is a particularly anxious time for parents,” the source said.
