Search underway for missing swimmer who jumped off Prince of Wales Bridge
CBC News | Posted: June 20, 2021 9:42 PM | Last Updated: June 21, 2021
A group of people were jumping off bridge into river but one didn't resurface, paramedics say
Emergency crews are searching the Ottawa River after a man jumped off the Prince of Wales Bridge Sunday but didn't resurface.
Paramedics said dispatchers got a 911 call shortly after 4 p.m. about a group of people jumping into the river from the old train bridge, which is west of the national capital's downtown and crosses the river into Quebec.
One of the swimmers hit the water, surfaced momentarily, and then disappeared, said Insp. Russell Lucas with the Ottawa Police Service (OPS).
Marine units from OPS, the Ottawa Paramedic Service, Ottawa Fire Services and the Gatineau, Que., fire department were all involved in the search Sunday.
"We're going to continue operations until probably later into the evening," Lucas told Radio-Canada.
At around 7:45 p.m., police and fire crews were still searching the waters near Lemieux Island for the missing man, police said in a media release.
Last summer, a 14-year-old boy died after he jumped into the water from the decommissioned bridge, which the city is planning to one day convert into a multi-use pathway across the river.