An afternoon of drinking beside the Gorge Waterway led to an ill-advised swim which ended up with one man nearly drowning.
“There had been a group of people on the dock who were consuming alcohol,” said Saanich Police Sgt. Jereme Leslie. “There was some conversation about going into the water and, when two men entered the water, one did not resurface.”
A 53-year-old man from Victoria was pulled out of the water and remains in critical condition.
First responders led a serious rescue operation, including CPR and the use of a defibrillator to resuscitate the man who was pulled out of the water at Gorge Narrows.
Esquimalt Fire, Saanich Police and B.C. Ambulance Services shut down part of the Gorge Bridge (Tillicum Road), in responding to the 911 call at about 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday.
The incident took place near the Gorge narrows where currents are extremely swift this time of year.
Two rescued from Gorge narrows pic.twitter.com/hk31UbMlmt
— Saanich News (@saanichnews) March 15, 2018
