Peel Police officers credited with saving lives of capsized boaters off shores of Mississauga
Published June 28, 2021 at 5:51 pm
Peel Police are crediting their officers for saving the lives of three men whose canoe capsized on Lake Ontario.
Constables Chris Duke and Mike Beveridge received the call of the incident on June 25 and quickly boarded a Peel Police Marine Unit where they sped to the scene.
Debris found in the water gave the officers an approximate location and eventually found three men struggling to stay afloat.
All three men were battling the affects of the frigid water temperatures as well as trying to stay afloat. The situation was dire.
“Realizing the situation was on the brink of turning tragic, Duke and Beveridge worked together to maneuver Marine 1 closer to the men while deploying a rescue line into the water,” according to a police statement. “The men, beginning with the one not wearing a life-jacket, were pulled onboard Marine 1 by Duke and Beveridge using just the rescue line and their sheer commitment to save all three men.”
Once on the boat the men were assessed and provided with emergency first-aid by Duke. At the same time, Beveridge navigated Marine 1 back towards the shore where Peel Paramedics were waiting. One of the men was transported to a local hospital for further treatment.
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Police say only two of the men were wearing life jackets.
Although the incident had a successful outcome police are taking the opportunity to emphasize the need to wear a personal floatation device (PFD) – or life jacket – regardless of the water and weather conditions and the ability of the person to swim.
Police say most similar type events end successfully because the majority of boaters where a PFD.
(Photo: Constables Chris Duke, left, and Mike Beveridge on board Marine 1)
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