Poor sense of risk led to dragon boat tragedy in Guilin

SEVENTEEN PEOPLE in Guilin in Southwest China's Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region drowned after two dragon boats capsized. Beijing News comments:

The tragedy in Guilin could have been prevented. For example, all the participants were wearing the same uniforms, but not one of them was wearing a life jacket.

Besides, the two dragon boats capsized near a weir which creates whirlpools in the river. According to analysts, such whirlpools are dangerous for dragon boats, but many dragon boat teams choose to challenge them because that makes their performance look much better. Had the villagers been more aware of the risks, this tragedy could have been prevented.