A 26-year-old Calgary man has died as a result of injuries sustained during a weekend drowning incident at Sylvan Lake.

At 7:30 p.m. on July20th, Sylvan Lake RCMP responded to a 911 call reporting that a person had gone outside of the swim line at Sylvan Lake Provincial Park and appeared to be drowning.

Sylvan Lake RCMP responded with an RCMP boat along with other first responders from both the Sylvan Lake Fire Department and Associated Ambulance Service. Other police officers and firefighters were able to locate witnesses on the shore that directed the responding vessel to the correct location of the victim. An off-duty Sylvan Lake firefighter, who happened to by boating on the lake in his own boat, also heard the call and also responded to assist.

When emergency crews located the area of water where the victim had last been seen, witnesses advised that he had already been under the water several minutes and was not able to be located.

Emergency workers jumped into the water, in search of the victim, along with other civilians that were in the water and had also responded to the area to help. The water in the area was approximately 15 ft. deep and visibility was very limited hampering the search effort for the victim.

The victim was located laying on the lakebed and was brought up to the surface and transferred to one of the boats and CPR was initiated. He was then transported by boat to shore and carried to an awaiting ambulance which was then escorted to Red Deer Regional Hospital by RCMP.

Police have determined from speaking to witnesses that the victim had, previous to the incident, been floating in a small inflatable boat along with his friend, each in their own boat, and the pair had drifted to the edge of the marked swim area.

Once there, the man exited his boat in an attempt to push his friend back in the direction of the shore after which, he was unable to re-enter his own boat.

An attempt to rescue the victim was attempted by his friend however it was unsuccessful. A witness, who had been in the water nearby, ran to a nearby business and called 911.

It was later determined that the victim had been underwater for approximately 20 minutes prior to being located.

While en-route to hospital, the victim was able to regain a pulse and was later admitted to the ICU unit at Red Deer Regional Hospital. On July 21st, the victim died as a result of the incident.

The name of the victim is not being released.

– Fawcett