Two men in their 20s have died after they slipped under the surface of a calm lake on Salt Spring Island.
The Salt Spring Fire Department was called about a drowning at the south end of Weston Lake just after 6 p.m. Tuesday. About a dozen people were in the water at the time and the men were close to shore.
“They were taken to Lady Minto hospital in cardiac arrest,” said Acting Fire Chief Arjuna George. They were declared dead at the hospital.
It was an unfortunate ending to what was supposed to be an early-evening swim for three friends, said Vancouver Island regional coroner Matt Brown.
“What we know and what witnesses said is that the three of them went to the lake with the thought of swimming,” Brown said. “The first one was heading out to the dock and obviously got into trouble, and the second went out to attempt to save, to help or assist, and he got into trouble, as well there.”
The coroner is investigating whether the two men were familiar with the lake, its depth and possible dropoffs.
“I don’t believe they were familiar with the area, and so we’ll also look at their swimming ability,” Brown said.
The coroner said poor swimmers might lose their footing and, in that situation, they can drown in seconds. “Drowning can happen really quickly,” Brown said. As well, drowning is often silent. Unlike the movies, it isn’t preceded by a lot of screaming and waving.
“It’s unusual two young men in their 20s would both die in a very tragic situation like this,” Brown said.
He said it’s not clear whether alcohol or drugs were involved. A toxicology examination is conducted for all coroner reports. “Whatever the reason is [for the drownings], we may never know.”
Bystanders had already brought one man to shore and were performing CPR when firefighters arrived and took over, George said.
As people in the lake searched for the second man, firefighters deployed a rescue boat and quickly spotted him about 15 metres offshore, George said. They tried to revive him using CPR and an automated external defibrillator.
On Wednesday, Salt Spring RCMP said they have handed the investigation to the coroner, meaning the deaths are not considered suspicious.
Coquitlam resident Matt Reuter was staying in a cabin on the lake with his fiancée, Jenny, and newborn baby girl, Freya, when he heard sirens.
Reuter went outside and saw emergency responders trying to revive a man on shore. He said he saw someone in a boat searching. He gave his paddleboard to a woman helping in the search, and grabbed a canoe and life-jacket in the hopes of assisting.
“By that time, they had already unloaded the rescue boat,” Reuter said.
“The guy who spotted him dove in and got him up really quickly … and started compressions on him,” Reuter said.
The second man pulled from the water appeared to be “incredibly” physically fit, Reuter said.
The men were wearing swimming shorts, he said.
“I’m not in the greatest shape and I can swim to the dock and back, no problem, at a relaxed pace,” Reuter said.
“It makes you think there was an extenuating circumstance of some sort.”
A third man on shore had been with the swimmers on Salt Spring Island, George said.
The man talked to Salt Spring RCMP after the incident. Reuter described the grieving man as emotionally fatigued but otherwise normal in appearance as he walked down the beach with an officer.
When the rescue was in full swing there were about 21 firefighters, several rescue vehicles, Salt Spring RCMP officers, two ambulances and Salt Spring Search and Rescue members on the scene.
“We were putting everything toward it to make sure we could come out with the best outcome,” George said. “We offer our concerns and thoughts to the families and the friends and the community and everyone throughout the community who witnessed this event.”
George said it was perplexing how both young men would drown on the otherwise calm lake so close to shore. “It is an unusual incident, that’s for sure.”
ceharnett@timescolonist.com
