Most victims will be found in an area that is how many times the depth of the water at the entry point?

• A. 0.5
• B. 1.0
• C. 1.5
• D. 2.0

Answer: (C)

In water rescue, the initial search zone is scaled to the depth at the entry because a victim’s position after entry tends to fall within a consistent vertical and horizontal envelope. Most victims come to rest within about one and a half times the water depth from the entry point. This accounts for buoyancy effects, how the body tends to suspend in the water column rather than staying at the surface or sinking to the bottom immediately, and downstream drift from currents. So the quickest, most effective initial search area is a region that extends roughly 1.5 times the depth of the water at the entry.