A teenager remained in hospital in critical condition Monday after a near-drowning in Langford Lake Saturday afternoon.
Witnesses said they saw the 17-year-old go under the water and not resurface, West Shore RCMP said.
Bystanders pulled the teen out of the water and onto a floating dock in the lake, about 60 metres from a main dock, and performed first aid until paramedics arrived, police said.
Bystanders ferried first responders to the floating dock in two boats and Langford Fire Rescue used its boat to transfer the teen to an ambulance.
There were many bystanders who acted quickly to help this young man,” Insp. Stephen Rose, officer in charge of operations at West Shore RCMP, said in a statement.
“There were witnesses who called police right away, others that jumped in the water and applied life-saving measures, and boaters who quickly ferried emergency personnel over to the floating dock.
“We want to extend our sincere thanks to everyone involved.”
Chris Aubrey, chief of Langford Fire Rescue, said it sounded like the teen was swimming with others when he went under, but it seems to have taken a few minutes before people noticed he hadn’t surfaced.
Aubrey said drownings in lakes in Langford are relatively rare, occurring only about every four or five years, but the incident is a reminder of the importance of not swimming alone and of keeping up to date with first aid training.
“Having people there that could call for help and start life-saving measures gave him a chance,” said Aubrey, who wants to see every high school student graduate with the ability to swim and do CPR.
“You never know when an emergency is going to happen in front of you.
“The people who went swimming that day, or went down to the lake, probably didn’t anticipate they were [going to be] doing CPR,” he said.
Parents should always keep an eye on children when around water, and people in boats or on paddleboards should wear a lifejacket, even if they’re strong swimmers, he said,
And, it’s important not to ever mix alcohol and drugs with boating or swimming, he added.
