Drowning

UPDATE: Body of man who drowned during Canada Day on South Thompson River recovered
KAMLOOPS – One man drowned in the South Thompson River on Canada Day after falling into…

UPDATE: Drowning in Okanagan River Channel
PENTICTON – A man pulled from the Okanagan River Channel in Penticton this afternoon has…
Transportation Safety Board team arrive at scene of Tolko fatality
KELOWNA – A two-person team of investigators from the Transportation Safety Board of Canada arrived…
Cooler summer behind drop in Thompson-Okanagan drowning deaths
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN – Cooler weather this summer may have dampened a few vacation plans, but it…

Tourist who drowned in Skaha Lake last week identified
PENTICTON – The man who drowned in Skaha Lake last week has been identified. Flaviu…

Dive team on site of possible Lake Country drowning
LAKE COUNTRY – A search of Lake Okanagan resumed this morning after a woman did…

West Kelowna man drowns in Okanagan Lake
WEST KELOWNA – A man seen diving into Okanagan Lake died after not resurfacing last…

Rafting accident claims life of Kelowna man ahead of wedding
KELOWNA – Less than a month before he was set to be married, a young Kelowna man has drowned while white-water rafting near Golden over the weekend. Rene Bourgault was rafting with three other people in Kicking Horse River Sunday, Aug. 16 when the group was thrown into the water roughly ten kilometres east of...

Despite a spike in water-related deaths, drownings down overall
VERNON - A number of water-related deaths in the Thompson-Okanagan over the past month have brought the topic to the forefront of many people’s minds, but the province’s Lifesaving Society says the number of drowning deaths is actually down considerably so far this year. Just this past weekend, a 27-year-old man was critically injured while...

HELSTON: What you can learn from a near tragedy on Okanagan Lake
Warnings to stay safe on the water have become to summer what drunk driving campaigns are to Christmas and telephone scam alerts are to grandparents. They’re good and important messages, but ones that tend to lose their kick over time like an old wind-up toy. Organizations work hard to find new ways of connecting these...

UPDATE: Kelowna man in critical condition after free diving accident near Paul’s Tomb
KELOWNA – RCMP have confirmed a man free diving in Okanagan Lake in Kelowna Sunday is in hospital in critical condition. Police did not name the man but said the 27-year-old was submerged for several minutes before being brought to the surface by his girlfriend, who is also a free diver. “After several minutes she...

Adams Lake drowning victim saved grandson after boat capsized
KAMLOOPS - Michael Treseng died doing what he loved most at Adams Lake, spending time with his family camping and fishing. His wife, Debby Carr, said he was always teaching his grandchildren gardening and fishing once the 56-year-old Clearwater man retired from a life’s work with Canadian National Railway. “He was probably the biggest-hearted man...

HELSTON: You’re never planning on getting into trouble on the water
When you’re packing up for a day on the water, toss in a floatation device along with your suntan lotion, snacks and iPhone. It might save your life, or someone else’s. I’ll be the first to admit that packing safety gear can feel like a big nuisance. It’s certainly not as fun as loading a...

Thompson-Okanagan drownings could have been prevented
THOMPSON OKANAGAN - A 14-year-old boy who died in a tubing accident in Vernon is one of 42 people across the province, and seven in the Thompson-Okanagan alone, whose lives were claimed in preventable drowning or water-related incidents over the past six and a half months. Miles Wohlford, 14, fell off his tube during an afternoon...

Chase man drowns after capsizing
KAMLOOPS — A 74-year-old Chase man is dead after the boat he was in capsized in the frigid waters of Niskonlith Lake Monday afternoon. Walter Sylvester Oleksyn was fishing about 30 metres off shore with a family member on May 12. The14-foot aluminum skiff overturned and they were tossed in the lake. The other person...