Today marks World Drowning Prevention Day.
Issuing a statement to the Department of Government Information said new laws and regulations must be introduced to increase water security in the country.
Unsuitable human behaviour has been identified as the main reason for drowning.
World Drowning Prevention Day was declared through a resolution passed at the 75th UN General Assembly.
Statistics have identified that 800 Lankan residents succumb due to drowning annually.
Issuing a statement for the first World Drowning Prevention Day, the Chronic Non-Communicable Diseases unit of the Ministry of Health said Sri Lanka ranks second for unintentional injury deaths.
About 1/3 of these victims are from South Asian countries.
Globally, the highest drowning mortality rates are among children aged 1-4 years, and is often reported as the leading cause of mortality among children between 1- 9 years.
Deaths due to drowning reported a drastic decrease due to restrictions imposed during the coronavirus pandemic.
However, the Health Ministry requested the public to take precautions since restrictions are being lifted gradually.
