Fatal Weekend Boating Accident

Brian Teepell/USPA 24 News - ****UPDATE, UPDATE, UPDATE, UPDATE, UPDATE****
Nova Scotia RCMP report that two children under 10 years old have lost their lives after a boat capsized on Lake Rossignol, N.S. late Saturday. RCMP spokesperson Cindy Bayers stated that there were four individuals on board: a 45-year-old man and three children under 10, all residents of Fall River, N.S.

The RCMP reports that the two children who died and two people who were injured were all wearing lifejackets when their boat capsized and took on water in West Caledonia, N.S., over the weekend.

“The boat had overturned and four people, a man and three children, were in the water and trying to get themselves to shore,” says RCMP Const. Mandy Edwards.

“It was actually the man, he called 911 to report that he was in distress. Once the children were in the water and two of them were not doing well, they had difficulty breathing. He performed life-saving measures on the children while his son maintained communication on the cellphone with the dispatch, so that was a big factor in how they were able to be located.”

Edwards says Lake Rossignol is a large body of water with many islands and rocks, so it took emergency crews some time to find the group. “So, the challenges would be the vastness of the lake, the water levels of the lake, as well as nightfall, and it was getting dark at the time, so those would be all the challenges that the rescue personnel endured."

“It’s great that they had a cellphone. If anyone’s familiar with that area, the cellphone service can be tricky. It can go in-and-out, but luckily, they were able to maintain that communication with dispatch, which helped in locating all the persons.”

Edwards stated that a helicopter located the 45-year-old man and three children, all from Fall River, just before 7 p.m. and took them to the hospital. Two children died from their injuries. The man and one child remain in the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. Edwards also noted that the children were aged 10 and under. She refused to comment on the man's relationship to the children.