Boy, 11, drowns in Chelsea pool

With area beaches officially opened on the weekend, news of a drowning death — in a backyard pool — had public health authorities reminding people anew to be cautious near the water.

An 11-year-old boy drowned on Friday night in a pool at a home he was visiting in Chelsea, according to MRC des Collines police.

The boy was with a group of friends when the incident occurred at about 9 p.m. at a home in the small community.

His identity was not immediately released because family members were still being notified.

Ottawa Public Health called it “a sad reminder about drowning prevention.” The agency tweeted “sympathies to this family.”

Drownings and other water-related deaths increase in the warm weather.

According to a 2016 report from the Red Cross on water-related fatalities in Canada, between 1991 and 2013, an average of 518 Canadians died annually in waterrelated fatalities.

Fifty seven per cent of waterrelated fatalities occurred in summer, and backyard pools accounted for 12 per cent of drownings.