Fishing with a mate at the local canal the other week, I nearly slipped in. He said I was lucky because loads of people drown in canals despite them often only being ~3-4 ft deep. I said at 6ft tall I'd just stand up.He argued the silt at the bottom is so slippery/deep you can't get traction to stand, which is supposedly why drownings happen. He linked these:https://www.dailypedia.net/2016/01/woman-occupied-phone-falls-drowns-river/Police said the water was only "chest deep" but the "thick sludge" could cause people to "slip and fall in.”And this:https://www.thepaper.cn/newsDetail_forward_1415824Police said the canal was "about chest-deep” but “the silt was very deep" and a person who fell in would "slip and be unable to stand up."Is that actually plausible, or exaggerated?
>>221886877Can't they just swim? Or do they need a license for that?
>>221887056Some people, like the woman mentioned in the articles, can't swim.
>>221886877Seems plausible. A deep layer of silt at the bottom will inhibit the ability to securely stand. But as the Finn said: just swim - additionally spreading yourself out increases your surface area, which is good against sinking in.
