Woman recovering after water rescue in Golden Ears Provincial Park

One woman is in hospital with serious injuries after a dramatic water rescue in Golden Ears Provincial Park on Saturday night.

Rescue crews were called to Gold Creek Falls around 6 p.m.

Witnesses said the ordeal began when a man went swimming in a pool above the falls and got into trouble. A woman from the same group fell in and was swept over the waterfall.

“The others tried to help him and in doing so, one female got swept over the falls, which is about 30 feet,” said Richard Laing with Ridge Meadows Search and Rescue. ” We’ve had several deaths over the years on those waterfalls, getting swept over and trapped at the bottom. She was extremely fortunate that she got flushed out as quickly as she did.”

The woman’s friends managed to pull her out of the water. Rescuers then arrived and provided first aid. The three other members of the group all made it out safely.

This latest incident comes just days after a young man died in the waters of Lynn Canyon. He drowned after witnesses said he was seen jumping off the cliff near the suspension bridge.

READ MORE: Young man dead after drowning in Lynn Canyon waters

According to the LifeSaving Society’s, there have already been ten drownings so far this year in B.C. He and others say people shouldn’t be fooled by the pleasant temperatures: a decent snowpack means water levels will be high

“We see a high number of drownings early in the season in the spring because people are not prepared for it,” said Dale Miller, the scoety’s executive director. “They’re not thinking about it as much and that’s really when the incidents start to occur.”

Miller he and more than two dozen national organizations have been working in recent weeks to create a Canadian drowning prevention plan.

He said the key message will be education and safety.

“The majority of these drowning deaths are preventable. If we can get the word out and get some basic training out there, we know that we can decrease the number of drowning deaths in Canada.”