UPDATE: Victoria Buzz has learned that three students were taken to hospital on Tuesday. This article originally reported that only two were involved.
New Details:
- The trio were all 16-year-old male Japanese students who could swim.
- The three swam out to an island but found themselves in distress around 2:00 pm.
- Two women on a paddle board and one man on a boat helped to rescue them.
ORIGINAL ARTICLE (Certain details corrected):
Three 16-year-olds came close to drowning at Thetis Lake on Tuesday afternoon.
The View Royal Fire Department confirmed that foreign exchange students had come close to drowning but were rescued by three beach goers, and then transported to Victoria General Hospital.
At leas one was in “significant medical distress” when emergency crews arrived.
According to CHEK News, two women on a paddle board pulled one of students from the water, while a man on a belly boat rescued the other.
The boater was able to grab one of the boys just in time, according to View Royal Fire Department Chief Paul Hurst. The student had taken in a lung full of water and was one breath away from sinking
Fire officials are commending the actions of the rescuers for saving the boys from drowning.
The Good Samaritans left the scene before emergency crews could get their names.
