While being common knowledge between people who work on water (life guards, maritime professionals, etc), this still might be quite a shock for all the rest – drowning doesn’t look like drowning. Most drownings you saw in movies and on TV are nothing like what a real thing is. Here is a quote from the article that you should definitely read:
The Instinctive Drowning Response – so named by Francesco A. Pia, Ph.D., is what people do to avoid actual or perceived suffocation in the water. And it does not look like most people expect. There is very little splashing, no waving, and no yelling or calls for help of any kind. To get an idea of just how quiet and undramatic from the surface drowning can be, consider this: It is the number two cause of accidental death in children, age 15 and under (just behind vehicle accidents) – of the approximately 750 children who will drown next year, about 375 of them will do so within 25 yards of a parent or other adult. In ten percent of those drownings, the adult will actually watch them do it, having no idea it is happening.
Via kottke.org.