Two people died over the B.C. day long weekend in separate incidents.
Shortly after 3 p.m. on Saturday afternoon, Penticton firefighters were called to Sudbury Beach on Skaha Lake for a reported drowning.
Cpt. Ken Younghusband of the Penticton fire department said crews responded by boat and vehicle to the scene where they recovered the body of a man in about eight to 10 feet of water.
He was pulled into the rescue boat and firefighters performed CPR as they took the victim to shore and a waiting B.C. Ambulance.
Attempts to revive the patient were unsuccessful. The identity, age and where the man was from were not available.
This was the second drowning at the same location in July and the third water-related death this season in the Penticton area.
On the afternoon of July 3, Flaviu Attila Struczul, aged 33, of Satu Mare, Romania was found unresponsive several metres underwater and earlier this spring, the body of a 51-year-old woman was also recovered in the shallow waters of Okanagan Lake.
In another incident, the RCMP are looking for any witnesses to a fatal accident that occurred north of Osoyoos at about 9:10 a.m. on July 31.
A northbound motorcycle on Hwy. 97 on the north side of Osoyoos collided with a car emerging from a service station, striking the driver’s side of the car.
Both the rider and the car driver were taken to hospital with injuries, where the 26-year-old motorcyclist, a Penticton resident, subsequently died.
The car driver’s injuries are believed to be minor. The 53-year-old car driver is a resident of Osoyoos.
South Okanagan Traffic Services has taken on the investigation. Anyone who witnessed the collision is asked to contact South Okanagan Traffic Services at 250-499-2250.
Sailboat in distress
In another marine rescue call, Penticton Fire Rescue and the Naramata Volunteer Fire Department responded to a report of an overturned sailboat Sunday near the Pyramid picnic area just south of Trout Creek at 3:14 p.m.
A witness driving on Highway 97 reported seeing the vessel in distress and that a power boat picked up two people.Younghusband said crews attended, but it was determined everyone was safe and arrangements were being made to retrieve the vessel.
Gusts lead to channel rescue
Four people were pulled out of Skaha Lake after strong winds blew their floating raft past the end of the channel on July 31. RCMP said it was the right choice for the four to not leave their rafts as the area was dangerous. Police were unable to save floaties that blew away.
Deer causes a ruckus
On July 30, a deer was struck by a vehicle travelling southbound on Lakeside Road, the deer got up and then managed to run into two cyclists who eventually left the hospital with minor injuries.
