Cold water and silt blamed for Erbil drownings as toll reaches seven

ERBIL — Most drowning incidents in Erbil governorate this year have been caused by cold water temperatures and a buildup of mud and silt in waterways, the spokesperson for Erbil Civil Defense said.

Shakhawan Said told 964media that bodies of water are especially dangerous this year because of accumulated silt. “People who enter the water to swim can become trapped within just a few meters and lose their ability to swim, as happened in the case at Gomaspan,” he said. “The surface of the water is warm, but the water beneath is cold. When someone enters, they can suddenly suffer muscle cramps and face serious danger.” He said seven drownings have been recorded across the governorate since the start of the year, with all the bodies recovered.

The Kurdistan Region saw higher rainfall and snowfall and lower temperatures this winter than in previous years, raising water levels in dams, ponds, rivers and lakes. Residents and tourists often visit these sites to cool off in summer, sometimes leading to drownings, and civil defense authorities have repeatedly warned against swimming in open water.

Among this year’s cases, a 12-year-old girl from Karbala, Ruqaya Rafid, disappeared on June 9 after entering the Zalm stream at the Ahmad Awa tourist site in Halabja governorate. Civil defense teams recovered her body nine days later, nearly 300 meters downstream, after an extensive search involving rescue crews and volunteers from across the Kurdistan Region.