Drowning toll in B.C. hits five in June

VANCOUVER — The B.C. Coroners Service has issued a warning about water safety as the drowning toll reaches five in the province this month.

Friday’s warning came a day after the body of a 20-year-old man was pulled from a lake near Squamish, and as the RCMP dive team continued to search a lake near Lillooet for another man’s body.

The service said statistics consistently show a spike in drowning deaths beginning in May and rising through August.

There were 47 accidental drownings in the province in 2016, the lowest toll in the past decade.

RCMP said in a statement that its underwater recovery team was searching Gun Lake, about 100 kilometres west of Lillooet, after a man fell into water while boating on June 17.

On Wednesday, a 20-year-old Delta man disappeared in Alice Lake near Squamish. Police divers recovered his body the next day.

The coroners service advised that alcohol should never be mixed with swimming, boating or any water-based activity, noting impairment greatly increases the chance of an accidental drowning.

“This is the time of year when we see too many carefree days on the water turn to tragedy due to alcohol, poor judgment or a momentary lapse in supervision of children,” said Dale Miller, executive director, Lifesaving Society — B.C. & Yukon Branch.