‘Respect the water’: Three drownings in one day

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This article was published 08/06/2021 (1591 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

JUNE 4 was a deadly day for drownings in the province, with the RCMP reporting three separate deaths in rural Manitoba.

At around 3:30 p.m., Lac du Bonnet RCMP arrived on scene as a 39-year-old man from Winnipeg was receiving CPR on the shore of Whitemouth River.

The man was there with family, when he slipped on rocks and fell into the river. Despite efforts of bystanders, including one who canoed out to the injured man, he died at the scene.

Around 7 p.m., a 24-year-old man from Steinbach (later identified as Sandeep Bandaru by a GoFundMe effort to send his body home to India) was swimming with two friends at Reynolds Pond near Richer. Bandaru reportedly attempted to swim farther out to a small island, turned around, but went underwater on the way back.

His body was found by an RCMP underwater recovery team the next day.

Roughly 10 minutes after that incident was playing out, another was underway in Portage la Prairie.

A 17-year-old boy who was swimming with friends at the Portage Diversion on Lake Manitoba slipped off a sandbar into deeper water. The river pulled him east and he went under the water.

He was pulled to shore by friends and received CPR, but was not conscious when police arrived. The teen was pronounced dead at the scene.

Mounties spokeswoman Tara Seele said the “terrible” toll was not something RCMP are used to seeing in such a short time period.

“It’s pretty shocking to have three (drownings) not even in a weekend, but in a day,” she said Monday.

Seele noted at least one incident involved a person who wasn’t even planning to go in the water. However, even those who may consider themselves strong swimmers can become a casualty of an unpredictable body of water, she said.

Lifesaving Society Manitoba records around 22 drowning fatalities on average a year in the province, and the issue is underestimated by people with all levels of comfort in water, safety management co-ordinator Christopher Love said.

“It’s really important, we say as a safety organization: you need to respect the water.”

Amid COVID-19 pandemic restrictions on indoor events, more individuals are likely going to be going outdoors, many to unfamiliar locations, officials said.

Love, who has a doctorate in swimming history, said the group is concerned swimming-related injuries and fatalities could spike under current COVID-19 safety regulations (which prohibit many normal summer activities, including more closely monitored civic pools and splash pads).

Regardless, Love said, getting the word out on water safety in Manitoba has always been urgent. He noted the vast majority of incidents happen to people not attempting to swim, and Manitoba has the highest per capita drowning rate for the zero to four age group, more than triple the national average.

People cooling off in the water this summer need to be cognizant of the risks: never go alone, always go sober, and never go beyond your skill level, he said.

“You need to be thinking about having as many layers of safety as possible when you’re going out and doing an aquatic activity — whether it’s in the water, on the water in a boat, or around the water.”

malak.abas@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: malakabas_