Drowning spike triggers B.C. warning to use caution

A more than 50-per-cent spike in drownings this summer has the B.C. Coroners Service urging British Columbians to be cautious around lakes, rivers and coastlines.

Thirty-four people have drowned in B.C. between July 1 and Aug. 21, less than two months. In the full two-month period last year, 22 people drowned.

According to the coroners service, the most drownings happened in the Southern Interior, with 14 deaths. There were nine drownings on Vancouver Island and five in northern B.C.

Almost half of the deaths happened in lakes, 11 were in rivers, while six were in the ocean and two drownings were in swimming pools.

Most incidents occurred during summer recreational activities, like swimming, boating, cliff-diving, rafting or tubing, with seven resulting from falling into the water unexpectedly.

On Aug. 17, a 28-year-old man from Surrey died after he failed to resurface when he jumped off a cliff about 53 metres above Anderson Lake near Pemberton. It took RCMP two days to locate his body.

On Aug. 19, a 26-year-old man drowned in Okanagan Lake. A snorkeller spotted his body the following day.

“Investigation into these deaths is ongoing in all cases,” the coroners service said in a release. “It is clear, however, that some of them could have been prevented through better watersafety measures.”

The coroners service is reminding the public of appropriate water safety: to wear a properly fitted life-jacket, never mix alcohol and water activities, check the water conditions and weather forecast, never dive into unknown waters and always supervise children.