Lifesavers are concerned by the number of drownings so far this summer, after the death of a child and another serious incident involving two others.

A two-year-old girl died in hospital after being found by her parents in a backyard pool in Sydney’s west Wednesday night.

Hours earlier two children were rescued from a lagoon on the Central Coast, leaving a boy in a critical condition.

A 21-year-old man is also missing after swimming in the Murray River.

Surf Life Saving NSW CEO Steven Pearce tells Natalie Peters and Erin Molan people need to take water safety more seriously.

“We’ve seen hundreds and thousands of more people flock to the beaches this season than we did last season and obviously the more people on the beach, the greater the probability.”

And with 17km of coastline, Mr Pearce says they can’t be everywhere at once and is pleading for people to swim at patrolled locations.

“All drownings can be prevented, whether that be through… swimming lessons, supervision or just purely listening to those safety awareness messages and swimming at patrolled locations.”

Click PLAY below to hear the full interview