New warnings about the dangers of venturing on thin ice or near bodies of water have been renewed following recent drownings in lakes and rivers across the country.
Four teenagers fell into the Rideau River in southern Ottawa while ice skating on Wednesday evening. Two of them were pulled out and taken to hospital for treatment, but the bodies of the other two were recovered by divers.
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Members of the Ottawa Police Underwater Search Team placed an unmanned search and rescue vehicle in the Rideau River on Thursday.
Photo: (Spencer Colby/The Canadian Press)
This tragedy follows the death of an Alberta family who were found drowned in Lake Sainte-Anne after running off the road the day after Christmas. That same day, a man died after falling through ice on the Bow River west of Calgary.
In Quebec last Friday, a four-year-old girl fell into the Mistassibi River while sledding with her mother. His body has not yet been found.
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A week after the tragedy, the body of the little girl who sank in the Mistassibi River in Dolbeau-Mistassini is still untraceable.
Photo: Radio-Canada / Béatrice Rooney
“Ice can be very deceptive…People look at it and think it's solid, even though it's not,” said Stephanie Bakalar, communications manager at the Life Saving Society.
She said about a third of drownings in Canada occur between October and May due to thin ice and cold water. Temperature fluctuations are also particularly dangerous.
It may look frozen to your eyes, but it probably isn't frozen underneath. As temperatures rise and fall, [la glace] freezes, melts and freezes again […] It's very dangerous.
Bakalar says people should measure ice thickness using an auger, a device that drills and takes a sample of ice.
What to do if you fall into the water?
The ice must be at least 10 centimeters thick to support the weight of one person, and if there are more people it must be thicker, explains the lifesaving company's communications manager.
If you drive your car on ice, the ice thickness should be at least 20 to 30 centimeters.
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A thin ice warning sign near a stream in Regina, Saskatchewan. (archive photo)
Photo: CBC/Glenn Reid
If you fall into the water, Ms. Bakalar recommends trying to get back onto the ice on your stomach or assuming a crouched position: lying on your back, arms wrapped around your knees, head out of the water while you ask for help call.
If someone else falls into the water, she advises against going to that person to try to save them. The manager suggests instead trying to throw her an object that floats or that she can hold onto.
Based on a text by Kimberley Molina, CBC