The possible drowning on Tuesday evening of a 32-year-old man who was bathed in the St. Lawrence River would have three deaths that have occurred since the start of the summer in the surroundings of Verdun beach.
• Read also: Possible drowning a 32 -year -old man at Verdun beach in Montreal
“Again. A man sank underwater, not at the beach, but near the pedestrian path. A camper tried to help him, but it was too late, “said a witness to the incident by publishing a photo in the Verdun Community group on Facebook.
On Tuesday, the Montreal City Police Service was called for a man in distress in the waters of the river, near the intersection of Boulevard Gaétan-Laberge and rue Hickson. He would have suffered discomfort while he was bathed outside the authorized area. The supervised beach is just a few meters away.
Police dispatched on the spot could not locate the victim from the shore, said SPVM spokesperson Caroline Chèvrefils.
Three drownings this summer
The next day, a nautical team of the Montreal police continued the research in bright waters to find the 32 -year -old man.
It would be the third drowning since the start of only summer in the Verdun beach sector. At the beginning of June, an asylum seeker who had just flew a dictator at Venezuela lost his life there while the beach was not yet open.
Then, on June 23, Jean Ngouamia Mbassanenze, a 27 -year -old man from Congo, also drowned after having ventured into the waters by the beach.
Individual responsibility
The city recently added guards who patrol people out of the water as well as panels to indicate the places where swimming is prohibited on the edge of the banks. However, it is above all an individual responsibility, according to the mayor of Verdun, Marie-Andrée Mauger.
Photo Marianne Lafleur
“We can never control 15 km of banks,” she said on Wednesday morning during a press briefing on the scene.
“We have an urban beach and we are very proud, but we need minimal respect for safety instructions and limit swimming during surveillance hours,” she added.
In overwhelming heat, people continued to bathe on Wednesday outside the permitted area, deplored the mayor. They even went so far as to hang their towel on the city’s prevention signs.
The city is also expected to add buoys in the sector.
