Mock tombstones serve as reminder for water safety
Posted July 21, 2011 11:09 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – It’s a stark reminder for swimmers.
The beach at English Bay looks eerily like a graveyard. Sixty-seven red, blue, and yellow kickboards have been stuck in the sand, each one representing a swimmer who died in BC in 2010.
Dale Miller with the Lifesaving Society says all of those drownings could have been prevented. “We think that this is going to strike people and maybe make them think about water safety next time they’re out.”
“We always have the messages about [wearing] your lifejackets and [supervising] your kids. When you see this number of tombstones on the beach, we hope it’s going to hit home.”
Miller says the good news is the number of fatalities in the water is dropping. Not that long ago it was well over 100. So far this year, 21 people have drowned in BC.
