2 killed in Kawartha Lakes boating accident: OPP

Ontario police say two men drowned after their canoe capsized in the Kawartha’s Sturgeon Lake on Sunday.

Two men are dead following a boating accident in the Kawartha Lakes region on Sunday afternoon.

The incident happened on Sturgeon Lake, which is roughly 155 kilometres northeast of Toronto.

Emergency responders were called to that area shortly after 3 p.m. after receiving reports of a canoe carrying three males that had capsized.

In a news release, the OPP’s Kawartha Lakes Detachment said one of the males was able to make his way to the shore, however two others were “unable to remain afloat and succumbed to their injuries.”

They added that there were no life jackets in the boat.

The local OPP, including its Marine Unit, along with City of Kawartha Lakes Fire and EMS, and the OPP’s Aviation team were involved in the lifesaving and recovery efforts.

“With capsized vessels and falling overboard the top contributing factors in boating deaths every year, a significant number of lives stand to be saved if boaters, personal watercraft users and paddlers wore a lifejacket or personal floatation device,” said the OPP, which patrols more than 110,000 square kilometres of Ontario’s waterways.