A mother was devastated that a lifeguard from the Super Aqua Club in Pointe-Calumet had to make a choice to save one of her two daughters who found themselves in deep water Friday.
• Read more: Four drownings from Friday: The more heat waves, the greater the risk of drowning
“It’s like we made a choice [entre les deux sœurs], Estelle is reduced to tears at the end of the line Iloi. He saved one more.
Her 14-year-old daughter Tracy Yvette Deba Andili was enjoying the heat on Friday at the Super Aqua Club with her two older sisters.
But this festive day turned into a nightmare during the last slide.
The 14-year-old and Joserans, his 18-year-old sister, found themselves in distress in the deep waters of a lake.
As provided for in Quebec rescue procedures, only one rescuer was stationed at the bottom of the slide at the time.
“He fought to get me out,” says Joserens, who was shocked by the incident. He then looked for Yvette, but he couldn’t find her.
Several rescue workers were later called in to help the teenager, who was unconscious minutes later.
His death was confirmed later that evening.
The water is very deep
Since the tragedy, the bereaved family has been filled with anger and incomprehension.
Estelle Iloyi knew her child Tracy Yvette was not an experienced swimmer. She will be taking classes in the fall.
So, she says, before paying her daughters a day of fun at the water park, she checked to make sure the water wasn’t too deep.
Thus he was convinced that his daughters would be safe at the Super Aqua Club. He says he feels “betrayed” and “betrayed” by the company.
Certified facilities
Called to react, the Super Aqua Club noted that signs were visible, announcing that the slides were “for good swimmers only”.
The company also points out that its facilities were certified by the Lifesaving Society earlier this month, and could not comment further due to the investigation.
The Lac des Deux-Montagnes Police Department confirmed Register One rescuer was above and another below. A staff shortage would not have been listed on the day of the tragedy.
Unless the coroner investigating the teenager’s death raises deficiencies, no changes to safety procedures are planned, says Yves Juneau, president of the Regroupement des parcs aquatics du Québec (RPAQ).
Big ambitions
Beyond the circumstances of the tragedy, Tracy Yvette’s mother is saddened by the knowledge that her daughter will never achieve her ambitions.
Described by those close to him as cheerful, intelligent and energetic, he dreamed of becoming a judge one day.
“She expected to get good grades to go to law school. […] She focused on it,” he proudly describes his mother, urging action to prevent another parent from experiencing such grief.
Swimmers who overestimate their abilities
The death of a 14-year-old girl at the Super Aqua Club in Pointe-Calumet reminds us that “there’s a difference between knowing how to swim and taking a bath,” says its general manager, Reynolds Hawkins. Lifesaving Society.
In theory, they alert swimmers when they enter a deep pool.
“It might look easy, but it’s not when you get in the water,” says Hawkins.
DG also notes that learning to swim in a residential pool is in no way equivalent to taking swimming lessons.
However, some people overestimate their abilities.
“When the question is asked during an autopsy if a victim can swim, most of the time, the answer is yes,” points out Raynald Hawkins. This is where I ask what test the person took and I am told she has not taken swimming lessons.
According to the Red Cross, men aged 18 to 44 in drowning units and children under the age of five in residential swimming pools escape adult supervision.
drowning in numbers
- 37 deaths since the beginning of the year
- There were 48 on the same date in 2021
- An average of 80 drownings per year have occurred over the past decade
- 73% of them take place between May and September
Source: Lifesaving Society
