Water safety warnings after four BC deaths in last week
Posted July 5, 2013 4:59 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – The BC Coroners Service and Vancouver Police are warning people to use extra caution around lakes, rivers, pools and seashores following the deaths of four people over the past five days.
A three-year-old boy has died following an accident in a swimming pool, a teenager died after slipping while playing at the top of a waterfall, a middle-aged man is dead after tubing on a river, and another man died while swimming in a lake in the BC Interior.
The Coroner’s Service says many victims are unfamiliar with conditions around water and as a result don’t know or underestimate the risks.
Such risks can include unexpected currents, steep and sudden drop-offs, or unusually high water levels because of heavy rains or late spring run-off.
Vancouver Police are also warning people about high flows on the North Fraser River because of warm weather and snowmelt and are asking people to wear personal flotation devices and use extreme caution.
Police add that people should also not boat or swim while impaired.
