GRAND BEACH, MB — A community is mourning after two children were pulled from the water at Grand Beach on Monday night.
The normally busy, care-free beach is filled with deep emotion after a 12-year-old boy and 11-year-old girl from Winnipeg drowned.
The two children were in the water together and being supervised by the parents of the 12-year-old boy when one of the parents lost track of the children due to the setting sun, according to the RCMP.
“It only takes a split second for something to happen,” said Emil Contreres, who was on the beach with his family Tuesday morning. “It’s heartbreaking. That’s not something you should ever have to go through as a parent.”
Both families and their children are from Winnipeg.
There were 12 beach safety officers on duty at the time. The officers are not lifeguards, but are in charge of educating the public, patrolling the beach, searching for missing people and administering first aid. They do not supervise the swimming area, according to the province’s beach safety website.
Officers told Global News they were notified of the missing kids around 6:45 p.m. All officers on duty began a ground and water search, linking arms and walking out throughout the water in a grid.
“They did a few sweeps and kept getting deeper and deeper,” said an emotional Colin Trygvason. “They all surrounded and brought them in.”
“Our staff initiated a search of the water and the area,” said program manager Renee Barnabe. “Two children were found in the water. They were pulled out and we immediately started medical care.”
Beach Safety Officers performed CPR until emergency services arrived around shortly before 8 p.m.
“They were trading off on who was doing CPR,” said Haley Bazinet, who witnessed the water rescue. “They were doing CPR for about 45 minutes on the kids.”
STARS Air Ambulance was called to the main beach after the two bodies were pulled from the lake.
The helicopter landed near the boardwalk and the two children were treated on scene. However, they could not be saved and were never transported to hospital, said Cam Heke of STARS Air Ambulance.
Bazinet and her 10-year-old cousin watched nearby as the paramedics worked feverishly on both children.
“It could have been any of us,” she said. “They are so close to my cousins ages…it could have been them.”
WATCH: Lifesaving Society on drowning prevention
According to the Lifesaving Society there have been nine drownings in Manitoba this year. That is the same number in all of 2015.
But those numbers are down from recent years. In 2014, 15 people drowned in the province.
The Lifesaving Society said on average two-thirds of drownings in Manitoba happen on lakes and rivers. Drownings for children under five years old in Manitoba are the highest in the country and double the national average.
This is the first drowning in Grand Beach since 1990, but the tragic incident has stirred up difficult and very emotional feelings for those who live in the community.
“It’s terrible to see that happen to a young child,” said Trygvason. “It affects everybody out here. We don’t want to see children lose their lives in the prime of their life.
The RCMP said charges are not suspected and there does not appear to be anything suspicious about the deaths.
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