Coroner issues warning following five drownings

The B.C. Coroner’s Service has issued a warning about water safety after the drowning toll reached five in the province this month.

The warning also comes a day after the body of a 20-year-old man was pulled from a lake near Squamish, and the RCMP dive team continues to search a lake near Lillooet for a man.

The service says statistics consistently show a spike in drowning deaths beginning in May and rising through August, although there were 47 accidental drownings in 2016, the lowest toll in the past decade.

An RCMP news release states its underwater recovery team is 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 and police divers recovered his body the next day.

The coroners service advises 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,” says Dale Miller, executive director, Lifesaving Society — B.C. & Yukon Branch.