Post by Sher on Aug 2, 2005 18:44:55 GMT -5
Girl lost on riverPersonal watercraft goes over weir in Manitoba
SOURIS, Man. -- A four-year-old Manitoba girl was missing and presumed drowned yesterday after her family went over the edge of a submerged dam on a personal watercraft.
The girl was on the watercraft with her mother, her two sisters aged eight and 10, and her mother's boyfriend on Sunday afternoon on the Souris River when the accident happened.
The boyfriend, who was driving, didn't see the dam until it was too late, according to a family member who asked not to be identified.
"When he saw what it was, he tried to turn around, but it sucked him over the edge," said the family member, who came from the missing girl's hometown of Killarney, Man., to pick up the recovered watercraft.
While there are two signs on either side of the weir, they face away from the river, warning people on the shore to stay away from the strong currents.
The signs describe the weir as "the drowning machine" and say that "venturing near this weir is risking death."
The two adults managed to swim to shore, and the two other girls were saved by members of the Souris Fire Department's water rescue unit.
The children were wearing life-jackets, but the four-year-old's jacket was likely torn off by the strength of the current, according to police.
"We did recover one life-jacket that came from the child who's missing," said RCMP Sgt. Bob Chabot.
Police had not released the names of the missing girl and the four other people involved in the accident by last night.
The steep, vertical drop of the dam - known as a weir - produces a circular current at its bottom, which trapped the watercraft and one of the missing girl's sisters.
"She was hanging on to the watercraft and it was rolling around," said Souris fire Chief Brian Parham. "She would pop down and then bob back up. There were a few anxious moments."
The current made it difficult to get a rescue boat near the trapped girl, but members of the Souris water rescue unit were able to get to her with the help of civilian volunteers on both shores who held ropes to hold the boat in place.
"I would say we were very fortunate," said Parham. "We had a one-shot try at it. I have to commend the girl for hanging on like she did."
The other rescued girl was pulled out of the river further downstream by a fire department member who lives nearby.
Four RCMP boats searched the river all day yesterday for the missing four-year-old girl, but did not find anything.
The location of the weir is well known to people in Souris, but there are no signs along the river to warn out-of-town boaters about its presence.
There is usually a cable with buoys strung across the river in front of the weir to prevent boaters from getting too close, but Parham said it wasn't up on Sunday because the water is unusually high and full of floating debris.
Souris is 260 km southwest of Winnipeg.
SOURIS, Man. -- A four-year-old Manitoba girl was missing and presumed drowned yesterday after her family went over the edge of a submerged dam on a personal watercraft.
The girl was on the watercraft with her mother, her two sisters aged eight and 10, and her mother's boyfriend on Sunday afternoon on the Souris River when the accident happened.
The boyfriend, who was driving, didn't see the dam until it was too late, according to a family member who asked not to be identified.
"When he saw what it was, he tried to turn around, but it sucked him over the edge," said the family member, who came from the missing girl's hometown of Killarney, Man., to pick up the recovered watercraft.
While there are two signs on either side of the weir, they face away from the river, warning people on the shore to stay away from the strong currents.
The signs describe the weir as "the drowning machine" and say that "venturing near this weir is risking death."
The two adults managed to swim to shore, and the two other girls were saved by members of the Souris Fire Department's water rescue unit.
The children were wearing life-jackets, but the four-year-old's jacket was likely torn off by the strength of the current, according to police.
"We did recover one life-jacket that came from the child who's missing," said RCMP Sgt. Bob Chabot.
Police had not released the names of the missing girl and the four other people involved in the accident by last night.
The steep, vertical drop of the dam - known as a weir - produces a circular current at its bottom, which trapped the watercraft and one of the missing girl's sisters.
"She was hanging on to the watercraft and it was rolling around," said Souris fire Chief Brian Parham. "She would pop down and then bob back up. There were a few anxious moments."
The current made it difficult to get a rescue boat near the trapped girl, but members of the Souris water rescue unit were able to get to her with the help of civilian volunteers on both shores who held ropes to hold the boat in place.
"I would say we were very fortunate," said Parham. "We had a one-shot try at it. I have to commend the girl for hanging on like she did."
The other rescued girl was pulled out of the river further downstream by a fire department member who lives nearby.
Four RCMP boats searched the river all day yesterday for the missing four-year-old girl, but did not find anything.
The location of the weir is well known to people in Souris, but there are no signs along the river to warn out-of-town boaters about its presence.
There is usually a cable with buoys strung across the river in front of the weir to prevent boaters from getting too close, but Parham said it wasn't up on Sunday because the water is unusually high and full of floating debris.
Souris is 260 km southwest of Winnipeg.
