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Drownings and traffic deaths mar Midsummer festivities

Finland’s Midsummer festivities got off to a tragic start as nine people lost their lives by drowning or in road traffic accidents. Finns traditionally head to the countryside for the Midsummer weekend, when drinking and proximity to open water of lakes, seas and rivers often produces a spike in drowning cases.

Pelastusrengas satamassa.
Image: Heli Kaski / Yle

As of Saturday morning some nine people had lost their lives in accidents over the Midsummer weekend. Six people drowned and three lost their lives in road traffic accidents.

On Midsummer Eve an 8-year-old child and a middle-aged man died in a motor boat accident. In Saarijärvi in Central Finland a middle aged man died after leaving for a fishing expedition, and in Hollola, Häme, an elderly man died after he went swimming.

Two more elderly men drowned in Puumala, South Savo and Outokumpu, North Karelia.

Two people died in separate traffic accidents on Thursday—one in Humppila, one in Hollola. In Hämeenlinna a 16-year-old died and a 15-year-old passenger was seriously injured when a moped crashed.

Midsummer is traditionally spent at cottages in the countryside in Finland, with access to lakes rivers and the sea often combining with alcohol to produce a spike in drowning cases.

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