A mother is devastated that a lifeguard at Super Aqua Club in Pointe-Calumet had to make a decision to save one of her two daughters who were in distress in deep water on Friday.
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“It’s like we made a choice [entre les deux sœurs]She bursts into tears at the end of the Estelle Iloyi line. He still saved one.”
His 14-year-old daughter, Tracy Yvette Deba Andely, was enjoying the Friday heat at the Super Aqua Club with her two older sisters.
However, this festive day turned into a nightmare during the very last slide.
The 14-year-old and Joserance, her 18-year-old sister, got into distress in the deep water of a lake.
As mandated by Quebec rescue procedures, only one rescuer was stationed at the bottom of the chute at the time.
“He tried to get me out,” says Joserance, traumatized by the incident. Then he looked for Yvette, but couldn’t find her.
Several rescuers were then called to help fish out the unconscious youth a few minutes later.
His death was confirmed later that evening.
waters too deep
Since this tragedy, the bereaved have been filled with anger and incomprehension.
Estelle Iloyi knew her child, Tracy Yvette, was not an experienced swimmer. She was supposed to take classes in the fall.
So before paying her daughters for a day of fun at the water park, she said she checked that there wouldn’t be deep water.
She was therefore confident that her daughters would be safe at Super Aqua Club. She says she feels “betrayed” and “betrayed” by the company.
Certified Facilities
Super Aqua Club, which was asked to respond, says signs were visible announcing the slides were “for good swimmers only”.
The company also notes that its facilities were certified by the Lifesaving Society earlier this month, adding that it is unable to comment further due to an investigation.
The Lac des Deux-Montagnes Police Department confirmed to the Journal that one rescuer was at the top and another at the bottom of the slide. No staff shortage would have been recorded on the day of the tragedy.
No change in the safety procedure is planned unless the coroner investigating the teen’s death points to deficiencies, according to Regroupement des Parcs Aquatics du Québec (RPAQ) President Yves Juneau.
Big ambitions
Regardless of the circumstances of the tragedy, Tracy Yvette’s mother regrets knowing that her daughter will never be able to achieve her ambitions.
Described as cheerful, intelligent and dynamic by those around her, she dreamed of one day becoming a judge.
“She expected good grades if she went to law school. […] That’s what she focused on,” proudly tells her mother, who is asking for steps to be taken to prevent another parent from experiencing such grief.
Swimmers who overestimate their abilities
The death of the 14-year-old girl at Pointe-Calumet’s Super Aqua Club reminds us that “there’s a difference between knowing how to swim and knowing how to bathe,” according to Raynald Hawkins, general manager of Life Saving Company.
In theory, lifeguards warn swimmers when they are about to enter a deeper pool.
“It might look easy, but in the water it’s not,” says Hawkins.
The DG also specifies that learning to swim in a home swimming pool is in no way equivalent to attending swimming lessons.
However, some people tend to overestimate their abilities.
“When the question is asked during the coroner’s examination as to whether the victim can swim, the majority of the time the answer is yes,” says Raynald Hawkins. Here I ask what the test is that the person took and I am told that he has never taken swimming lessons.
According to the Red Cross, men aged 18 to 44 in boating and children under five in swimming pools who are not under adult supervision are the most likely to be involved in drownings.
Drown in numbers
- 37 deaths since the beginning of the year
- In 2021 there were 48 at the same time
- Average of 80 drownings per year in the last ten years
- 73% of these take place between May and September
Source: Life Saving Society