Lifeguards find man, couldn’t revive him
A 57-year-old man from the Lower Mainland drowned Monday at the Okanagan’s only lifeguarded beach.
The unidentified man had been in Okanagan Lake in the vicinity of Swim Bay, corner of Beach Avenue and Sixth Street, early Monday afternoon. At some point, the man, who was accompanied on his visit to Peachland by friends and family members, went under the water and failed to resurface.
“Approximately 30 minutes went by before his disappearance was noticed and after all attempts by the victim’s family and friends had failed to locate the man, they contacted the lifeguards who took up the search,” Kelowna RCMP Const. Mike Della-Paolera said in a Tuesday release.
Lifeguards found the man, brought him to the surface, and tried to resuscitate him. But their efforts, and those of paramedics, were unsuccessful and he was pronounced dead.
“This is a sad time for family and friends of this gentleman and the RCMP are saddened by this unfortunate accident,” Della-Paolera said.
For many years, Peachland has employed lifeguards from late June until late August along 140 metres of beach at Swim Bay. Lifeguards watch over the main swimming area, a high diving board, two floating docks, a zipline and a rope swing.
The lifeguards are typically college students, on duty every day from 12:30 p.m.-5:30 p.m. and also providing swimming instruction in the mornings. Providing the service costs the town about $75,000 annually.
There are 19 lifeguarded beaches in B.C., according to the B.C. and Yukon branch of the Lifesaving Society, with 11 of them located in Vancouver.