A 37-year-old Surrey man drowned Sunday in the Similkameen River at Bromley Rock.
Lakhvir Brar was returning home from a family holiday in Penticton when he stopped with his wife, two young children and two family friends, for a rest break.
Brar was a non-swimmer. He waded into the river, lost his footing, and slipped beneath the water.
“Twenty people jumped into the river to help search for him,” said Princeton RCMP sergeant Barry Kennedy.
Brar was pulled from the river after ten minutes; about 50 meters downstream from where he was last seen. An off-duty physician and two local firefighters administered CPR until BC Ambulance Services arrived. Paramedics spent a further 30 minutes by the water, attempting to resuscitate Brar.
“They had a faint pulse,” said Kennedy. Brar was transported to Princeton hospital where he died.Kennedy noted this is the third drowning in the Similkameen River in 2014, and issued a caution for residents to use safe water practices.
“The water level is low but there is still a deep channel that runs through it and it is quite fast.”