Bulgarian authorities here on Wednesday said there had been a steady downward trend in the number of child drownings in recent years thanks to education and prevention programs.

Director of the Water Life Saving Service, Anton Nalbantov, said at a press conference marking water life saving week, that in the four years from 2013 to 2016, the total number of child drownings was 59 while in the 2009 to 2012 period the figure was 81.

In 2016, 14 children drowned, while in 2003, the number was 52, Nalbantov said.

"The decline is encouraging and I am confident that the number will further decrease," he said, citing the number of children in training programs on preventing water accidents.

Meanwhile, Nalbantov said the general statistics showed that 133 people drowned in the Black Sea country last year, and the figures for 2015 and 2014 stood at 125 victims and 129 respectively.

The number of people who were rescued from drowning was 3,974 last year, 3,383 in 2015, and 4,806 in 2014, he added.