A sudden spike in water-related deaths in B.C. has set off alarms at the Lifesaving Society.
“It’s alarming and going against the longer-term trend,” said Barbara Byers, research director with the Lifesaving Society of Canada.
So far this year, 37 people have died in water in B.C, compared with 20 people at the same time last year.
A total of 81 people died in water-related accidents in 2012, compared with 61 in 2011. However, over the previous five years the number of deaths had been trending down.
The most recent water-related death was last Wednesday, when a 42-year-old man drowned while tubing down the Puntledge River near Courtenay. The man was identified Saturday as William Frank (Bill) Havill of Aldergrove.
On June 30, a four-year-old boy was pulled lifeless from an in-ground pool in Cowichan Bay. On the same day, a 16-year-old exchange student died after going over the Granite Falls in Indian Arm.
Byers was unable to explain why there has been a sudden spike in water deaths in B.C.
“That’s a lot for B.C. It may be the weather, but it’s only July. It’s hard to know how it will pan out,” she said.
B.C.’s top danger zone — North Vancouver’s Lynn Canyon, where there have been 16 deaths in the past 20 years — was bustling on Sunday.
On a warm, sunny afternoon, dozens of jumpers were testing fate at the 30-foot pool in the canyon.
With a number of height options to choose, some climbed up the rock face to jump from about 100 feet off a rock outcropping into the 30 foot-deep pool of crystal-clear and very cold water.
“It is an adrenalin rush,” said Thomas Gregson, 16, of North Vancouver after a cliff jump. “The first time it is really scary, but after a while you get used to it.
“I do it until I’m tired,” he said, noting that the water is cold.
“Some people, they don’t know the area and that is dangerous,” Gregson said.
Jason Kent, 40, of Vancouver was jumping from the cliffs and commented on all the spectators. “Lots of people come here just to watch,” he said.
And he said he sees plenty of teens drinking and then jumping. “Don’t get drunk and do it,” he said. “That is really dangerous.”
Besides the jump below, he said, scaling the rock can be dangerous as well. “The rocks get really slippery up there,” he said.
Similarly, at Thetis Lake, many teens ignore the warning signs about the dangers of cliff-jumping.
Barb McLintock, spokeswoman for the B.C. Coroners Service, said the spike in water deaths is prompting a new round of warnings.
In particular, the coroner is pointing to disturbing statistics around impairment and water activities.
“Whether swimming or boating, alcohol and drugs account for 40 per cent of drowning deaths,” McLintock said.
“People know they can’t drink and drive, but don’t realize they shouldn’t drink and swim. People don’t seem to be getting the message that drinking and swimming is just as risky as drinking and driving.”
McLintock said that hypothermia from plunging into very cold water is also a risk, especially in early summer.
Over the Canada Day long weekend, three people were rescued by an alert Harbour Air board pilot who spotted them struggling in the glacially fed Green Lake near Whistler and diverted his plane to save them.
Capt. Chris Nelson, of the Whistler Fire Rescue Service, said people visit Whistler and get out on Green Lake often in canoes and underestimate the risk if they capsize.
“It can be a combination of the very cold water and the current,” Nelson said of the danger at Green Lake. “You need to be prepared. It can turn into a nightmare if you get hypothermia. The water is so cold, the body starts to shut down. The one fellow last weekend, he looked like near death.”
North Vancouver RCMP Cpl. Richard De Jong echoed the coroner’s concerns when it comes to alcohol and swimming — especially in the Lynn Canyon area.
“Certainly, alcohol up there doesn’t mix,” he said. With respect to the daring cliff jumps, De Jong added that some people feel braver when inebriated.
“We often see up there in Lynn Canyon the alcohol impacts their mood and judgment. They are jumping into cold, fast-moving water and it is a recipe for disaster.”
B.C. Lifesaving Society education director Wendy Schultenkamper warned that that even strong swimmers can get into trouble if they don’t know the area they swimming.
A tragic recent example is that of 42-year-old George Klein, an able swimmer who dived from a dock into Wood Lake near Kelowna on June 29 when he spotted two of his sons struggling in the water.
Klein, who was from the Yukon, dived deep at a point where Vernon Creek empties into the lake and creates an undertow.
His sons survived, but Klein did not resurface. His body was recovered 20 metres from the shore in five metres of water.
DEADLY SPOTS IN B.C.:
Lynn Canyon: There have been 16 deaths in the past 20 years at this popular North Vancouver cliff-diving spot.
Granite Falls: A teen from Mexico died after going over the falls in this popular spot on the east side of Indian Arm on June 30. .
Green Lake: There was a near drowning in this glacial-fed lake northwest of Whistler last week. A teenager died in the lake in the late 1990s trying to rescue his brother.
Cultus Lake: This beach-lovers’ delight south of Chilliwack has been the scene of several drownings and deadly powerboat and jet-ski accidents.
Wood Lake: Coroner is investigating after a man from the Yukon died June 29 when caught in cold water and an undertow where Vernon Creek empties into Wood Lake.
RECENT WATER-RELATED TRAGEDIES IN B.C.:
July 3 — William Frank (Bill) Havill, 42, drowns while tubing in fast-flowing water in the Puntledge River, near Courtenay.
June 30 — A 16-year-old boy dies after being swept over Granite Falls on the east side of Indian Arm.
June 30 — A four-year-old boy is pulled lifeless from an in-ground pool in Cowichan Bay. The boy is taken off life support three days later.
June 29 — George Matthew Klein, 42, of Whitehorse, drowns in Wood Lake near Kelowna trying to rescue three boys caught in a current.
June 16 — A 16-year-old boy drowns while swimming in Seeley Lake in northwestern B.C.
June 7 — Sid Neville drowns after his boat is swamped during a storm on Burns Lake, east of Vanderhoof. Neville was able to rescue his nephew by pushing him on to the hull of the overturned boat.
June 3 — An elderly canoeist drowns near Squamish after his craft flips.
May 25 — Michael Lorne Guthrie, 32, drowns in Little Wilson Lake, near New Denver.
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