Toronto crews are in the area of Bluffer’s Beach in Scarborough searching for a missing man in his 20s who was on a jet ski.
Duty Insp. Lhawang Jongdong with Toronto police told reporters they were called for a marine rescue at around 9:15 p.m. Sunday when two people — a man and a woman — on a rented jet ski went overboard.
Jongdong said neither the man or woman were strong swimmers and that the man, who was the operator of the jet ski, had given his life-jacket to the woman. She was able to make it back to shore with the help of another person on a separate jet ski.
“The female was able to live, and unfortunately the male himself obviously wasn’t able to swim, and as a result this tragedy occurred. Unfortunately, we’re still looking for him,” Jongdong said.
He said there will be an investigation into the rental process and the operation of a jet ski without enough life-jackets.
The woman did not sustain any major phyiscal injuries, he added.
Jongdong said crews had been there all night until about 4:30 a.m. Monday and came back to refuel vessels. The search resumed a few hours later at 7:30 a.m., Jongdong said.
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“Members of the Marine Unit, along with the Canadian Coast Guard, continue to search for this individual,” Jongdong said.
“We want to remind everyone to always check weather conditions before going out in a water, and please wear a life-jacket and ensure you have the required safety equipment with you in case of emergency,” he added.
Jongdong said police have spoken to the family. He said the family is “devastated” but remains “optimistic and hopeful.”
Both Toronto Fire and Toronto Paramedics attended the scene initially but have since been called off.
TPS marine unit says rescues, water collisions up significantly
Toronto Police’s marine unit tells Global News their calls for rescues and vessel collisions this June and July have “increased significantly” compared to last year.
The marine unit said so far this year they have had 11 minor collisions and several serious ones. One collision involved two rental PWCs (personal watercrafts) where one operator suffered serious injuries, and the other was charged with dangerous operation causing bodily harm.
Three rental PWCs crashed in August sending one person to hospital and one of the PWCs was towed due to severe damage, the marine unit said.
They added rescue calls for people and vessels in distress are up 51 per cent this summer compared to last year.
“Many involve inexperienced riders flipping their PWCs and being unable to re-board, or PWCs drifting or washing up on shore unattended. We’ve also seen more collisions with rocks and other PWCs, particularly among rentals,” the marine unit said.
The marine unit has increased patrols at Hanlan’s Beach due to repeated complaints. They launched an enforcement blitz in July and charged mostly rental company operators for unsafe equipment and life-jacket violations.
“We’ve seen more reckless behaviour, including careless operation near designated swim zones and shorelines at Humber Bay, Bluffer’s Park, Woodbine Beach, Ashbridge’s Bay Yacht Club, and around launch ramps,” the marine unit said.
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