Fishing trip ends in presumed drowning

Searchers are combing the Winnipeg River for the body of a Winnipeg man believed to have drowned near Powerview, Man., on Tuesday.

The 22-year-old man, whose name was not released, fell into the Winnipeg River on Tuesday morning while fishing with friends at the Powerview hydroelectric dam in eastern Manitoba.

The man's friends saw him fall, but he was swept away by the fast-moving water, RCMP said. Investigators do not believe he survived.

RCMP are scouring the area with ambulance, fire and search-and-rescue teams from Beausejour, Pine Falls and Lac du Bonnet.

The Lifesaving Society of Manitoba said 12 people have drowned in Manitoba in 2008, half of them in the last three weeks. "Summer came late for Manitoba. People literally are flocking to the water now that we've finally got some heat, and they want to enjoy what's left of summer," the society's CEO, Carl Shier, said.

"The heat makes the water that much more dangerous in the fact that there's a cold-water gasp reflex if you fall into water suddenly."

Seventy per cent of drowning victims never intended to be in the water in the first place and enter accidentally — for example, from a boat, dock or walking near the shoreline, Shier said.

He recommended people always wear a lifejacket, avoid alcohol near water and keep children within arm's reach.