A community in Alberta is mourning after a toddler fell into a private lake and drowned.
On Tuesday morning, emergency crews responded to a call of a drowning child at a home on the shores of Lake Bonaventure, a private lake in southern Calgary.
When crews arrived, bystanders were already giving the child CPR. Paramedics then rushed the toddler to hospital, where the boy later died.
Carol Henke, spokesperson for the Calgary Fire Department, told CTV Calgary the incident has been emotional for first responders.
“Any serious medical intervention that we respond to, especially when there are children involved, affects us all,” she said. “It’s traumatic for everyone who's involved.”
Shera Peggs, who lives across the street, said she was just getting to know the family.
“I was absolutely devastated,” she said. “They're just really sweet people and they have their grandbabies over all the time."
Peggs says she’s never seen anything like this in the seven years she’s lived in the neighborhood, but adds it doesn’t take much for an accident like this to become tragic.
“It can happen in a second because they're right along the lake,” she said.
The Calgary Fire Department is encouraging everyone to be careful around all bodies of water. They also recommend taking a first-aid course.
“It does take us a few minutes to get there and you can be that critical piece that bridges that gap until emergency responders arrive,” Henke said. “That’s really important.”
With a report from CTV Calgary’s Shaun Frenette
