A free diver drowned near Furry Creek last week according to RCMP.
According to the Squamish RCMP, the Coast Guard and BC Ambulance Services were dispatched to Howe Sound near Furry Creek on Wednesday, Aug. 30 in response to a “reported free diving emergency,” wrote Sgt. Dallas Langley to The Squamish Chief in an email on Sept. 5.
“The victim, originally located by friends, was transported to the shoreline near Oliver’s Landing with Coast Guard personnel attempting life saving measures,” said Langley. “All attempts to resuscitate the victim were unsuccessful.”
Langley said that the RCMP is still investigating, but the circumstances of the death are not deemed suspicious at this time.
The BC Coroners Service confirmed with The Squamish Chief in an email that it was investigating the death as well but could not provide any other details.
The police did not provide any further details about the incident.
There were 86 drownings total in B.C. in 2022.
According to a report released in July 2023 by the BC Coroners Service, accidental drowning deaths increase in B.C. during the summer months.
From 2012-2022, the average annual number of drowning deaths was 76 and the average annual rate was 1.5 per 100,000 population.
Fatal drownings were most common in the summer months, peaking at an average of 13.5 deaths per year in July.
In the 10-year review of accidental drownings, the service found that ocean drownings are the third highest likelihood of places where people drown next to lakes and ponds or rivers and creeks.
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