Maple Ridge lake fatality - British Columbia

[DandyDon]

Alouette Lake, originally Lillooet Lake and not to be confused with the lake of that name farther north, is a lake and reservoir in Maple Ridge, British Columbia, Canada. It is located at the southeast foot of the mountain group known as the Golden Ears

Some rumors suggest that this is the fourth for this shop and they have pressured their customers to not discuss it, or so the rumors go. I don't know what the shop could have done to prevent a cardiac event as those are difficult to predict. It must be extremely cold up there, but I guess the acclimated locals dive there in the middle of winter. Shore diving with no cell service and no radio contact with Emergency Services seems risky, but then hiking parks with neither happens all the time as well.

Scuba diver suffers fatal heart attack at Maple Ridge lake

Air ambulance called for man in cardiac arrest in Golden Ears park

www.abbynews.com

A scuba diver at Alouette Lake suffered a fatal heart attack on Sunday.

Maple Ridge Fire and Rescue were called to South Beach in Golden Ears Provincial Park at approximately 11 a.m., for a call that came in as a drowning incident.

A group was scuba diving off the shore at the beach, using diving equipment, when a middle-aged man suffered medical distress, explained Chief Michael Van Dop.

The victim had been carried out of the water, but was suffering cardiac arrest when emergency responders arrived.

A witness on the scene said he was with his family, and saw a group of four scuba divers in the water, and another two closer to shore. He heard a loud cry for help, and realized one of the divers in deep water was in trouble. Not all of the divers were immediately aware of his distress, but the two near shore came out to help him.

The eyewitness also helped to get the victim to shore, where members of the group started giving him CPR. Their patient was in obvious medical distress, and the witness described it as a traumatic scene.

With no cellphone access at the beach, a pair of men drove toward Maple Ridge where they could make a 9-1-1 call.

The witness said paramedics arrived, but estimated it was a half hour before the air ambulance arrived. He said the incident highlighted the need for phone service in the park in the event of emergency.

An air ambulance landed on the beach but did not take the patient to hospital, as he did not survive the incident.

The BC Coroners Service is in the early stages of an investigation into the death.

 

[chillyinCanada]

It's close to 50 degrees Fahrenheit there today and may have been warmer on Sunday but yes, divers ate used to diving there all winter.

 

[Searcaigh]

Shore diving with no cell service and no radio contact with Emergency Services seems risky, but then hiking parks with neither happens all the time as well.

Go back a couple of decades and no cell service existed anywhere!

I used to dive in some really remote locations along the Red Sea Coast in Saudi Arabia, and if you were lucky there might be a coast guard station nearby with a telephone or radio to summon help.

 

[chillyinCanada]

Go back a couple of decades and no cell service existed anywhere!

I used to dive in some really remote locations along the Red Sea Coast in Saudi Arabia, and if you were lucky there might be a coast guard station nearby with a telephone or radio to summon help.

It's not remote. I suspect the problem is terrain related.

 

[girlwithbigtanks]

The terrain is flat. You can back your car up to the lake. Its a heavily used provincial park in a suburban area. It was sunny and cloudy, About 10c. It does not freeze. Probably about 5c. The group carries an aed . I was not there. Its a pretty benign place to dive. The walks at Whytecliff Park and just about every other dive site on the south coast is more strenuous.

 

[DandyDon]

Go back a couple of decades and no cell service existed anywhere!

I used to dive in some really remote locations along the Red Sea Coast in Saudi Arabia, and if you were lucky there might be a coast guard station nearby with a telephone or radio to summon help.

We're fortunate nowadays with our cell coverages, satellite phones, long-range portable radios, and PLBs.

 

[Steelyeyes]

We're fortunate nowadays with our cell coverages, satellite phones, long-range portable radios, and PLBs.

That way the news of our death is spread more rapidly. *sarcasm alert*