The Chief Executive Officer for the Livesaving Society in Alberta and the Northwest Territories says during the pandemic in this province they saw almost a doubling of the media reported drowning rates in 2020 and then those numbers and records were broken again in 2021.
According to Kelly Carter, they saw lots more people accessing natural areas and natural bodies of water around Alberta and around Canada. He adds, they haven’t seen those kinds of numbers in many years.
Carter says as more people access the water that presents a risk, also many people are accessing water or locations that they have never been before so they need to know what the hazards are in those areas and how to be safe.
July 17th to the 23rd is National Drowning Prevention Week and Carter explains what they are focusing on this year.
For more information, he says to visit the website LifeSaving.org.
Carter discusses what a Water Smart Community is.
Carter urges all Canadians to learn to swim by taking a Swim to Survive or Swim for Life program. He also encourages everyone to wear a properly fitted life jacket when out on a boat.
Nationally, over 400 deaths occur due to drowning annually. World Drowning Prevention Day is on July 25th.
Meanwhile, on July 16th, Parkland RCMP received a report of a capsized boat in Wabamun Lake in Alberta. Upon arrival, the Wabamun fire department had retrieved one individual from the water. Unfortunately, the victim who was identified as a 56-year-old male from Parkland County was deceased. It is believed that the victim was participating in a training exercise with a local volunteer group. Although the RCMP are still investigating, they do not believe that the death is suspicious.
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