West Kelowna diver dies suddenly in Fintry Park

The pastoral beauty of an Okanagan park was shattered Sunday by the sudden death of a scuba diver from West Kelowna.

The 57-year-old man was taking a lesson or exam with a qualified instructor about 70 feet below the surface off the Fintry Delta in Fintry Provincial Park.

He suddenly went into medical distress shortly before noon, say officials with North Westside Fire Rescue.

“My understanding is the (pair) were practising a maneuver to switch from the primary regulator to an alternate regulator when the diving instructor realized the man was in trouble,” North Westside Fire Rescue Chief Jason Sattherthwaite said.

The lack of bubbles showed the unidentified man had stopped breathing and his eyes appeared lifeless, the instructor told firefighters.

The instructor, from Golden, pulled him to the surface and hollered to people on the dog beach to phone 911.

He performed CPR as he swam the man to shore by wrapping his arm over his chest and squeezing, said Lt. Shawn Barnes of North Westside Fire Rescue.

The firefighters happened to be in the park for the annual Fintry Fall Fair and rushed 150 metres to the scene.

Two of them took over CPR until he was declared dead. It wasn’t clear whether he drowned or suffered cardiac arrest.

An autopsy will determine the cause of death, said Barnes.

Two ambulances were called and three RCMP officers arrived in separate squad cars.

They waited until after 2 p.m. for a coroner to transport the body to a morgue.Visitors to the fall fair, including dog walkers and families, were steered away from the beach during the rescue attempt.

A man and woman scuba diving nearby were somber as they collected their gear from the beach. “It’s horrible,” she said. A helicopter was deployed soon after the 911 call but was stood down, said Barnes.

A 15-year veteran of the local fire hall, Barnes was unaware Fintry Delta is a destination for divers.

Given the depth the men were at when the incident occurred, Sattherwaite believes the man was an experienced diver.

DON PLANT/Special to the Daily Courier RCMP officers and a diver stand on the dog beach at Fintry Delta on Sunday afternoon next to the body of a diver who died under the white tarp.