Last year, 733 people were rescued in 610 search and rescue operations at sea, the Croatian Ministry of the Sea, Transport and Infrastructure said on Thursday.

The largest number of search and rescue operations – 162 – were carried out in August, which was 24 more than in the same month in 2020.

Last year, 28 persons died in accidents at sea, including nine divers, 33 were injured and no one was declared missing. Thirteen ships, 110 boats, 12 yachts and 15 other craft were rescued.

Also, there were 51 cases of incapacity to navigate, 43 grounding accidents, 27 fires, 18 sinkings and 17 collisions.

In 2021, search and rescue units responded 827 times, mostly during the summer tourist season.

“Analyses confirm that the most common causes of accidents at sea are ignoring weather alerts, insufficient nautical experience, inadequate boat equipment and technical failure of the craft,” the ministry said.