Boating safety urged as RCMP investigate 2 separate fatal accidents in N.S. – Halifax

Boating safety is top of mind, as police in Nova Scotia investigate two separate fatal boating incidents that claimed three lives over the past week.

A 24-year-old from Wallace, N.S., died after being thrown from a boat that ran aground near Oak Island in Cumberland County on Tuesday.

“The person is believed to have been ejected because the boat ran into shallow water, so it had hit land, and that caused the person to be ejected from the boat,” said spokesperson Cpl. Mandy Edwards.

Two passengers were also ejected from a boat on Aylesford Lake on July 1. A 70-year-old man was pronounced dead at the scene. The body of the second passenger, a 58-year-old local man, was found the next day.

“Officers arrived on scene and (people) in another boat were able to get one of the persons out of the water. But they were declared deceased,” said Edwards.

“When they were trying to recover the first person, they lost sight of the second who had gone in the water. So efforts continued throughout the rest of the day and into the next day to recover that person who was recovered on July 2nd.”

Safety reminders

Transportation Canada boating safety officer, Chris Hanlon, stresses it’s important for boaters to know their waterways before heading out.

“The more aware you are of what’s going on, the less likely you are to run aground or hit something that causes you to become ejected,” he said.

“If you’re going safe speeds and you’re adapting to conditions, you’re more likely to stay on board the boat.”

In the case that someone is ejected, Hanlon says it’s vital to make sure you keep an eye on them.

“The quicker someone can see them, the less likely you are to lose track of them,” he added.

“Whoever’s operating the boat can then turn around and go back towards them and hopefully pick them up and bring them back aboard quickly and safely.”

He says in general, everyone should take precautions to stay safe on the water — and that includes wearing a lifejacket.

“We always want to stress: wear a lifejacket, make sure you have a lifejacket on board for everybody,” he said.

“In addition we always want to stress that you should be boating sober. Treat operating a boat the same as you would operating a car. Make sure you tell someone where you are going to be and when you plan to be back. That way if you’re not back in time, they can put the alarm out hopefully and we can get you tracked down quicker.”

The investigations into both fatal incidents is ongoing and RCMP continue to ask for anyone with information to come forward.

— with files from Kendra Gannon 

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