Student drowns at Gull Lake U of T camp in Minden
MINDEN — A popular annual camp for engineering students from the University of Toronto has been cut short following the fatal drowning of an 18-year-old student from Mississauga.
Emergency responders were called Tuesday around 4:45 p.m. to the University of Toronto Survey Camp on Gull Lake near Minden, about 100 kilometres north of Peterborough.
The teen was pulled from the lake and transported by paramedics to the Haliburton Highlands Health Services hospital in Minden, where he was pronounced dead, according to Sgt. Peter Leon of Haliburton Highlands OPP detachment.
“I understand he was in the water with friends; he became separated from them, at which point they made an attempt to locate their friend and removed him from the water immediately and started with first aid themselves,” Leon said.
The body has since been taken to the coroner’s office in Toronto for an autopsy.
The teen’s name has not been released, Leon said.
In a news release posted on its website Wednesday, the university said the student who drowned was with others taking part in an engineering course.
Cristina Amon, dean of faculty of applied science and engineering, sent a message to staff and students, in which she announced the cancellation of this week’s programming at the camp. Students who were participating in it returned Tuesday night, she said.
“Today, our attention must be with those affected by this terrible tragedy. The thoughts of our entire community are with the family and friends of the student who died,” she wrote.
The camp, built on the 175-acre property that the university purchased in 1919, has operated since 1920. For two weeks every year over the summer, it trains undergraduate civil and mineral engineering students in land surveying and engineering project management.
At the camp, students, who are about to start their third year, get hands-on skills in topographic mapping, route and construction surveying, as well as concepts like GPS (global positioning systems), integrated water system and geology.
The camp is equipped with a bunkhouse for student’s accommodation, a staff cottage for professors and teaching assistants, as well as a teaching facility for lectures and tutorials — although the majority of the work is carried out in the fields.
According to a set of camp rules to enforce safety measures, students are not allowed in the water unless they’re accompanied by a “swimming buddy.” They must also notify a camp instructor in advance. Diving in the lake is prohibited, and so is the excessive consumption of alcohol, or any other “rowdy” behaviour.
The university said it has resources available for students and faculty members who may need any kind of support, through its Health and Wellness Centre and Good 2 Talk.
Leon said there has been a number of water-related deaths over the past few months in the area, and in some cases it has to do with people not being strong swimmers. While the investigation is ongoing in this particular case, his advice for people is to always take precautions or stay out of the water altogether.
“I often tell people, we have to respect the power of water. It can provide us with relief and life, but it can also take life very quickly,” Leon said.