Three Manitoba kids die in separate drownings over five days

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This article was published 20/06/2023 (814 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Three children have drowned in separate incidents in Manitoba over a five-day span, prompting renewed warnings and water safety advice as summer officially began Wednesday.

A two-year-old boy died Monday evening, after he was pulled from a retention pond near a home on the outskirts of Portage la Prairie, said RCMP.

Two earlier drownings involved a 23-month-old boy and a 10-year-old girl from remote Island Lakes communities in northern Manitoba.

“These are tragic circumstances, and we have no way to fully comprehend what the families are going through right now,” said Christopher Love, water smart and safety management co-ordinator at Lifesaving Society Manitoba.

Love said the province has had the highest rate of drowning deaths in Canada for children ages four and under.

Five children have drowned in Manitoba in less than four weeks.

The most recent incident happened near a home on Old Bridge Road in Portage at about 7 p.m. Monday.

RCMP were informed the two-year-old boy was found in a pond shortly after he wandered away from family members. The child was pronounced dead in hospital.

On June 18, a group of children was swimming in St. Theresa Point First Nation, when two 10-year-old girls went out too far and began having difficulty, said RCMP.

Both girls went under the surface. A bystander pulled one to safety, but the other was not immediately located in the water.

She was later found by a First Nations safety officer, who arrived with diving equipment. The girl was pronounced dead at a nursing station.

The other child has recovered, said police, who were notified shortly after 7 p.m.

RCMP said a 23-month-old boy was found in a lake outside his home in Garden Hill First Nation at about 3 p.m. June 15.

The boy was in the care of his older siblings at the time, said police.

He was taken to the community’s nursing station and airlifted to Winnipeg, where he died in hospital June 18.

RCMP continue to investigate the drownings.

Grand Chief Scott Harper of the Anishininew Okimawin Grand Council (formerly Island Lake Tribal Council) said both communities are reeling from the drownings.

“It is a tragedy,” he said. “We value our young people and our kids. When we lose a young person, the whole community feels the loss.”

Harper said he has spoken to Garden Hill representatives, and he was also going to talk to officials in St. Theresa Point about what happened and what could be done.

“We just had a discussion about swim lessons and water safety,” he said. “They used to have that every year. I think it is something we can start again, especially water safety. I don’t think it has happened consistently.”

Lifesaving Society Manitoba is visiting 30 northern and remote communities this summer to provide swim to survive and other water safety training.

Garden Hill and St. Theresa Point are not on this year’s itinerary.

Communities are invited each year to submit an application to request a week-long visit, said Love. Costs are covered by government and private funding for the organization.

RCMP spokesman Sgt. Paul Manaigre said the recent drownings “hit home more” because the victims are so young.

“It’s a tragedy regardless of age, but it’s just harder to comprehend when it’s a young, little one,” he said. “We’re mourning with the communities that are grieving and in shock right now.”

Most of the suspected or confirmed drownings reported by Manitoba authorities so far this year have involved young children.

A five-year-old girl was found in a lake after wandering from her home in Brochet on June 1.

On May 27, a 12-year-old Winnipeg boy slipped and fell into the Winnipeg River at Sturgeon Falls, while camping with his family in Whiteshell Provincial Park. His body was recovered May 29.

Manaigre wanted Manitobans to understand drownings can happen quickly, sometimes in just a few seconds.

“We hope that’s in the back of people’s minds this summer,” he said. “Summer is going to be busy, as far as people being in the water.”

Children should be actively supervised by an adult at all times, and those ages six and under should be within arm’s reach, Love said.

Love said a life jacket or PFD is recommended for weak or non-swimmers, or when boating. People should never go in or near water alone, in case they get into trouble, he added.

The province averages 22 drownings per year, said Lifesaving Society Manitoba, which produces an annual report with confirmed data from the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner.

About 70 per cent of drownings happen between May and September.

“Hot summers do tend to see a higher number of fatal drownings because more people are in, near or on the water,” said Love.

A majority of incidents occur in unsupervised lakes, ponds or rivers.

Ten per cent of victims between 2010 and 2019 were aged four and under, according to a report with the most recent data.

In those incidents, children were not being supervised or the person or people who were supervising them were distracted, the report stated.

Overall, swimmers represented 43 per cent of fatalities in the most recent 10-year data period, while 25 per cent of victims were walking, running or playing near water.

— with files from Kevin Rollason

chris.kitching@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @chriskitching