An investigation is underway after a 31-year-old Alberta man drowned in a lake in B.C.’s Okanagan Valley on Wednesday afternoon, the RCMP said.
Police said emergency crews were called to Wood Lake, in the area of Oyama Road and Trask Road in Lake Country, at 2:29 p.m. for a report of a possible drowning.
They said it’s believed the man was swimming out to a floating dock in a designated swimming area when a family member noticed he had gone underwater and not resurfaced. The family member immediately called for help.
“The Lake Country Volunteer Fire Department launched their rescue vessel, while two divers from the fire department searched the lake with the support of multiple civilian boats,” Cpl. Jesse O’Donaghey said in a statement. “The man’s body was located below the water’s surface, in approximately eight feet of water.
“Rescuers quickly pulled the man from the lake and immediately began CPR. He had been transported by emergency medical crews with BC Ambulance Service to an area hospital.”
The man was not able to be resuscitated and died of his injuries in hospital, the RCMP said.
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“The Lake Country RCMP would like to recognize all those members of the public who, without hesitation, began to search for the missing man and continued to aid emergency crews with pulling the man from the lake and performing life-saving measures,” O’Donaghey said.
Lake Country RCMP said it is now supporting the BC Coroners Service in its investigation into the death.
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