“The data does not lie: nine times out of ten, the victim was not wearing their flotation device at all or not correctly. In response to the recent spate of drownings in the province, the Quebec Lifesaving Society says it’s time to make their use mandatory.
Posted at 6:29 p.m.
Updated at 9:00 p.m.
Raynald Hawkins, executive director of the Lifesaving Society, thinks that people tend to “not see the potential danger” of a situation when they practice a water activity.
“The number one reason people don’t wear their personal flotation devices (PFDs) is because they don’t intend to fall overboard,” he says. Allow me to draw parallels. When I wear my helmet while biking or skiing, is it because I know I’m going to have an accident? »
Take the time to wear [un VFI]. You will have anecdotes to tell rather than dramas to bring to life for your loved ones.
Raynald Hawkins, Executive Director of the Lifesaving Society of Quebec
Mr. Hawkins would like, like seat belts in cars, the wearing of mandatory PFDs to become common practice in society. “I dare say that the regulatory context can make a difference,” he says.
There have been about 80 drownings per year in the past decade. 73% of these deaths occur during the hottest months of the calendar, between May and September.
In the last days
Wednesday evening, a body was recovered from the St. Lawrence River in Montreal, in the borough of Verdun.
It was a passerby who was on the edge of the water in the borough of LaSalle who called 911 when he saw what appeared to be a body adrift.
The man was later located, inanimate, in the area of the small urban beach in Verdun, located near the intersection of boulevard LaSalle and rue de l’Église.
Resuscitation maneuvers were performed on the victim, who was transported to hospital, where the death was not immediately confirmed.
An 81-year-old woman drowned in Baie-Trinité, on the North Shore, on Tuesday. This is the third death by drowning in four days in Quebec.
An 84-year-old man was also on board the victim’s boat, Émilienne Beaudin. They both capsized “for a reason still undetermined” in the middle of the day on Lake Rossister, says Sergeant Hélène Saint-Pierre, of the Sûreté du Québec (SQ).
Around 12:30 p.m., the emergency services received a call for help. Wildlife officers in the area pulled the two people out of the water. They were on the lake to practice fishing.
“Resuscitation maneuvers were attempted” for Mme Beaudin, continues Hélène Saint-Pierre. “His death was pronounced later in the afternoon. The man, for his part, was kept “under observation” in a hospital center.
The victim was not wearing a personal flotation device (PFD) at the time of the accident. “It is certain that wearing your PFD during a nautical activity is advisable,” commented the SQ.
On Saturday, a 36-year-old man drowned while fishing in Baie-Comeau. And on Monday, a 63-year-old man lost his life in the same way in Saint-Rose-du-Nord, in the Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean region.
There have been 18 drownings in the province this year, according to data from the Lifesaving Society of Quebec. This is one less death than last year, at the same date.
In cases where a victim wore his PFD properly, it is mainly hypothermia that causes death. “In addition to the shock of falling involuntarily into the water, you have quite a significant thermal shock which can trigger hyperventilation. You become unconscious after a minute,” explains Raynald Hawkins.
To avoid an accident during a nautical activity, one can also learn to move inside a light boat, navigate according to the waves and take the time to consult the weather forecast, he advises.
With The Canadian Press