This is the third time in 50 years that only one person in the country has drowned over Midsummer, according to the Finnish Swimming Teaching and Lifesaving Federation (FSL).
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File photo. Image: Jaani Lampinen / Yle
An elderly man who drowned last Thursday evening in North Karelia appears to be the country’s only drowning over the Midsummer holiday weekend, according to figures from the Finnish Swimming Teaching and Lifesaving Federation (FSL) as of Sunday morning.
The federation said that this was the third time in 50 years that only one person in Finland has drowned over Midsummer.
An average of six people drowned during Midsummer between the years of 2015 and 2024, according to the group. Around 80 percent of the drowning victims were male and most of the fatalities occurred in eastern areas of the country, it said.
Roads busy on Sunday
So far, a total of three people had died in traffic accidents over the holiday weekend, according to police.
Police departments across the country were kept busier than last year.
However, things calmed down somewhat on Sunday, as the holiday weekend winds down.
According to Fintraffic, roads will be most congested at around 4pm on Sunday. But, as many people’s summer vacations begin over Midsummer, traffic may well be lighter than just before the holiday, according to news agency STT.