BURST
RCMP and other emergency services are scouring Cultus Lake for a 13-year-old girl who fell off her paddleboard Saturday afternoon.
Witnesses told Chilliwack RCMP the girl was floating on a paddleboard at around 1:20 in the afternoon when she suffered a medical emergency and fell into the water. She was not wearing a life-jacket.
Police officers along with Chilliwack Fire, B.C. Emergency Health Services and Chilliwack Search and Rescue are on-scene, conducting search and rescue efforts.
Authorities are asking the public to avoid the Entrance Bay area of Cultus Lake, as it is an active search and rescue operation.
There have been 40 accidental drowning deaths in the province so far this year, a significant spike from the 26 people who died across the same time frame in 2025.
A man from Mission drowned while paddleboarding at Hayward Lake last month, after falling off his board. He wasn’t wearing a PFD and had limited swimming abilities.
A newlywed couple died in May after falling off their paddleboards at Browning Lake near Squamish.
The spike in drowning deaths has authorities issuing reminders about the importance of life-jackets.
“Unexpected factors such as hitting your head, cold water shock, undercurrents or a collision with a watercraft can all have an immediate impact on your ability to keep yourself above the water, and a simple personal flotation device could mean the difference between a fun day on the water and a sad and tragic outcome,” RCMP said.
This is a breaking story. More to come …