Two city rivers, the Yarra and the Brisbane, are among the deadliest waterways in the country, new data reveals.
Twenty-five people have died in each of the murky-coloured rivers since 2008, according to Royal Life Saving Australia figures released on Thursday.
They were only outnumbered by the Murray River, which had 41 deaths over the same period, despite being 10 times longer than the Yarra, at 2508km.
At least five of the 25 drownings in the Yarra occurred in the two kilometre stretch that runs through the Melbourne CBD.
