Emergency crews kept busy over deadly weekend on Alberta waterways
Posted Jul 22, 2013 7:48 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
First responders are urging people to keep water safety in mind when enjoying lakes and rivers after a deadly weekend on Alberta waterways.
It all began Saturday around 4:15 p.m., when crews were called to the Bow River at 1st Street N.W. over reports of an overturned raft.
When crews entered the water, they found a woman clinging to a partially submerged tree.
“It looked like she was just about at the point where she couldn’t hang on anymore so they launched a rescue,” Calgary Fire Battalion Chief Allen Ball tells 660News. “One of the divers on a tethered line went out and rescued the woman, and both were brought back to shore.”
She was assessed by EMS and then released.
The woman, in her twenties, was part of a group of four that was enjoying a float down the Bow River.
She told her rescuers that she was so cold she could barely hang on and was thankful for the Aquatic Team’s help.
A few hours later, Sylvan Lake RCMP responded to reports of a person near a provincial park who had failed to surface.
The man was outside the swim line when he went under water.
Mounties were joined by other first responders including Sylvan Lake Fire Department and Associated Ambulance Service.
Water in the vicinity was 15 feet deep and visibility was limited, hampering the search for the victim.
Twenty minutes later he was found, lying on the lake bed, and transported by boat to shore.
He died the following day in Red Deer Regional Hospital.
It’s believed the 26-year-old man from Calgary was floating in a raft at the time with his girlfriend.
Just before midnight, still on Saturday, police responded to reports of a body in the Bow River near Bowness.
The Medical Examiner recovered the body of an adult male.
An autopsy has been scheduled for Tuesday, at the earliest, to determine cause of death.
On Sunday, Calgary Fire was back out to the river, after a group of seven adults in their raft hit the 10th Street Bridge.
The impact tossed the raft and launched a woman into the water.
She was wearing a life jacket and was rescued by members of her own group 400 metres downstream.
The woman, who appeared uninjured, was assessed by EMS but refused treatment.
Calgary Fire says there are several things you should keep in mind before accessing a river or lake.
It’s crucial, and the law, that people wear a properly fitting life jacket or personal flotation device.
Being intoxicated while on the water is illegal, never tie rafts or boats together and every vessel under six metres must carry a buoyant heaving line, a bailer or bilge pump and a whistle.
They also warn river conditions can change daily so make sure you’re aware of water levels, temperature, and current visibility and river hazards.
