Deadly Weekend On The Water
Posted August 10, 2009 12:00 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
It was another deadly weekend on Ontario’s waterways.
The drowning deaths came at the end of one of the worst weeks in recent memory. In the past seven days, a dozen people have lost their lives in boating and swimming incidents.
Now, the federal government wants to make wearing a life jacket – not just having one in the boat – the law.
Currently, the number of personal flotation devices onboard the water craft must match the number of people on board.
But you don’t have to be strapped in.
The Ministry of Transportation indicated that the law is under review, but it could take some time before its changed.
Provincial police Const. Skeeter Kruger said that in his 35 years living in Ontario’s Muskoka region, he doesn’t remember a more deadly week. A dozen people died in boating or other accidents.
“It’s terrifying that in the last week and a little bit, there were somewhere around a dozen deaths on our roads and waterways in Muskoka alone,” he said.
“It’s becoming taxing on the officers emotionally,” said Kruger. “The notification of next of kin, it takes its toll on officers.”
On Saturday, a 33-year-old Milford Bay man was thrown from his high-speed racing boat into the waters of Lake Muskoka near Walker’s Point (pictured).
Paramedics initially managed to revive him and he was airlifted to St. Michael’s Hospital in critical condition. However, he succumbed to his injuries on Sunday.
Police were also at the scene of another accident around the same time, with an inflatable dinghy capsizing in Lake Simcoe, sending two people into the choppy water.
It happened around 6pm in Georgina, Ont. One person was wearing a life jacket and made it to shore. The other, a 32-year-old man, was a non-swimmer and was not wearing a life jacket. He died in hospital.
And now, police say, a man is missing and presumed drowned after the canoe he was in capsized in Arrowhead Provincial Park, north of Huntsville on Sunday afternoon.
An unusual amount of heavy rain this summer has flooded Ontario’s waterways, making the water higher, faster and more dangerous than in prior years, Kruger said.
OPP Divers Recover Third Body From Moon River In Muskokas
Second Man Dies After Attempting To Rescue Niece In Muskoka
With files from The Canadian Press.
