Rescue calls continue to pour in from Penticton Channel

Photo: Contributed

Safety signs implemented along the Penticton Channel by Coyote Cruises.

Two back-to-back calls for rescues on the Penticton Channel Tuesday are just the latest in a string of floaters in distress so far this season. 

Penticton Fire Department deputy chief Chris Forster said crews responded to the two incidents almost immediately following each other Tuesday afternoon. 

"The first one there was a person who had floated past the exit point and ended up out on Skaha Lake," Forster said. "Someone on a Sea-Doo actually ended up getting to them before we got out there and got them to shore."

The second rescue was more involved. A family with children on a large shared floatie,  who were not wearing life jackets, went into the water near the Penticton Golf Course. 

"Everybody went in and none of them knew how to swim," Forster said. 

Luckily they were able to get to the shoreline, and when fire crews showed up they assisted in getting the family back to dry land. 

"It was a hard lesson, they did not want their floatie back, they said they weren't going to be going back on the channel," Forster said. "They didn't realize exactly how difficult it could be in there."

The distress calls are the latest in a busy season for rescue crews and reports of floaters in jeopardy already. Coyote Cruises, which rents floaties but does not control who accesses the waterway, shut down for a week to implement increased safety measures.

Thankfully, no one has suffered permanent injuries or death, but the fire department continues to remind the public that the water is flowing fast, life jackets save lives and intoxication on the channel can be extremely dangerous.