German pool makes water wings mandatory for non-swimmers after eight drownings in Lower Saxony in June
A public pool in Stadthagen, Lower Saxony, now requires non-swimming children to wear water wings or similar flotation aids, following a rise in drownings in the region.
A public swimming pool in Stadthagen, in the Schaumburg district of Lower Saxony, has introduced a mandatory water wings rule for children who cannot swim. The measure, reported by the Schaumburger Nachrichten, also permits life jackets, buoyancy vests, and similar flotation aids. Pool manager Kerstin Klotz told the newspaper that the effort is justified if it prevents even one serious accident.
If even a single child can be saved from a serious accident by an additional safety measure, then this effort is justified in our view.
The rule follows a rise in drownings in Lower Saxony: eight people died in June 2026, compared with five in the same month last year, according to DLRG figures cited by Die Welt. A similar water wings requirement is in place at a pool in Obernkirchen, and the Hannoversche Allgemeine Zeitung reports that the practice is common in many other German swimming pools.
