A 16-year-old boy has been confirmed dead by the RCMP after he was reportedly found face down and unconscious in the waters of Twin Falls, a popular swimming and picnic area in North Vancouver’s Lynn Canyon.
Firefighters carried out a rope rescue for the teenage boy and took him to paramedics, who performed CPR and took him to hospital, where he died, RCMP Cost. Brett Cunningham told media on Friday night.
WATCH: Lynn Canyon tragedy
The boy, who is from Pennsylvania, was in North Vancouver visiting family when he went swimming at Twin Falls, an area with two waterfalls and a “raging river,” Cunningham said.
While swimming, the boy was carried away by strong currents and he slipped under the water.
Coverage of Lynn Canyon on Globalnews.ca:
Friends and family called out for help and bystanders responded. They pulled the boy out of the waterways before emergency services, including firefighters and paramedics arrived.
The boy was taken to Lions Gate Hospital with “life-threatening injuries” and he died from there at about 4 p.m., Cunningham said.
Twin Falls is located near the Lynn Canyon Suspension Bridge. There are two waterfalls and a “raging river” in the area, with a short wooden bridge that goes across it.
It’s an outdoor spot where signage warns people of “extreme danger,” and says that many lives have been lost there.
Cunningham clarified that it’s not a crime to swim in this area, but cautionary signs have been posted “because of the dangers and the ongoing problems we have with individuals swimming in these very dangerous waters.”
– With files from Rumina Daya