After a week of hot temperatures and ahead of the long weekend, advocates are reminding the public to be water safe.
“Nobody intends to get into trouble in the water when they head to the beach. In many drownings, people never intended to even go in the waters,” said Dale Miller, executive director for Lifesaving Society for BC/Yukon.
“There are many environmental factors certainly that people need to think about when they head to the waters. Right now, heat is one of them and that can certainly weaken someone’s ability to swim,” he said. Among the deaths, 77 per cent of the victims were male — the highest affected age demographic was the age 20-34 group.
Miller said boaters need to remember to carry their life vests when out on the water and to not jump into the water in the event someone is drowning.