Alberta woman and B.C. man die in separate weekend drownings
Kelowna man, 29, Alberta woman, 34, died in separate accidents
An Alberta woman and British Columbia man both died in two separate drowning incidents in different parts of B.C. over the weekend, RCMP say.
Both deaths happened on Sunday evening around 6 p.m. PT.
Mounties in the Columbia Valley were called out to Kootenay National Park after a Calgary woman slipped over the edge of Marble Canyon and into swift river current. The woman, 34, had been posing for a photo with her partner when she suddenly lost her footing. RCMP said she was swept away.
According to the statement, the woman's friend jumped in the water to try to help her, but was also swept down the river.
The woman's body was pulled from the water about one kilometre downstream, where she was pronounced dead.
The 29-year-old Calgary man who tried to help was eventually pulled from the canyon in a high-angle rope rescue.
He was airlifted to a Calgary hospital with non-life threatening injuries.
Kelowna man presumed drowned
Also on Sunday, RCMP officers were called to help search for a 29-year-old Kelowna man who had not resurfaced while swimming near Tug Boat Beach just after 6 p.m. PT.
West Kelowna RCMP, Kelowna Fire and Rescue and members of the Central Okanagan Search and Rescue (COSAR) could not find the man and he is presumed to have drowned, said a statement Monday.
Recovery teams returned to the area early Monday to begin searching for his body off both Kelowna and West Kelowna shores.
"At this time, we unable to estimate how long this operation will be ongoing," said RCMP Cpl. Jocelyn Noseworthy.
They are asking the public to give space to dive teams as they do their work.
"For the safety of our divers and the entire search team, we request that boaters remain away from the area while we complete our search," said Noseworthy.
The B.C. Coroners Service has also been notified of both drowning incidents.