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Jumping off bridges and swimming in canals is dangerous

Jumping off bridges and swimming in canals is dangerous

It may seem tempting on hot days, but jumping off a bridge to cool off in the water is dangerous.

The dangers of bridge jumping
Bridges are often higher than they appear. You can injure yourself by the impact on the water, but you can also break a bone or suffer a collapsed lung. The water in a canal is often dirty, so you can't see how deep it is and whether, for example, there are old bicycles on the bottom where you can get hurt.

The dangers of swimming in the canal With the warm days ahead, Rijkswaterstaat emphasizes once again:do not just go swimming in rivers and canals, because that is prohibited almost everywhere. It is also dangerous:ships can create currents or whirlpools, you are also barely visible from a ship and a ship cannot just stop or change direction. The temperature of the water can vary from place to place. Sudden cold water can cause cramping or hypothermia, even in experienced swimmers.