OPP urge water safety after one tragedy and one rescue in Turkey Point, Ont.
OPP are reminding people of water safety after two people were rescued from Lake Erie at Turkey Point this past weekend - just one week after a young boy drowned in the same area.
The family of eight-year-old Mustapha Adam has begun a crowd-funding campaign to start an education fund for children to take extra-curricular activities such as swimming lessons and life-saving skills, along with an education fund for children in need.
“Mustapha had high empathy,” said the boy’s cousin, Daud Abdulrahman, who launched the campaign.
Mustapha disappeared off Turkey Point on June 5. His body was discovered after an extensive search by the OPP Marine Unit. He drowned after abandoning a floating raft that had drifted far from shore and attempting to swim back.
His uncle said the family wants to honour the fact that, even at a tender age, the boy was always thinking about the needs of others.
“He would ask questions to his parents such as, ‘Why are people poor? Why can’t people have food?' So the idea of people suffering was really something that was in Mustapha’s mind every day.”
The campaign comes after Norfolk OPP Marine Unit officers rescued two individuals off Turkey Point this past weekend.
According to police they were suffering from hypothermia after being in the water for five hours after they fell from their personal watercraft.
Acting OPP Sgt. Ed Sanchuk says they planned ahead, and that resulted in their lives being saved.
“I can tell you without a doubt that lifejackets saved their lives, along with a phone call from a concerned family member. So we’re asking people that may be heading out into the water to please have a plan in place. Always put your safety as a priority. If you are traveling for the day have all necessary safety equipment - a charged cell phone - and make sure you keep it on your person. In this case here there was a cell phone, but it was on the personal watercraft that drifted away.”
Sanchuk said there are points along the lake line in Norfolk County where the undertow is significant. That includes popular beaches like those in Port Dover, Long Point and Turkey Point
He also said the further out from shore, the colder the water becomes, “It’s very deceiving.”
Sanchuk adds that it’s important to let people know when you’re heading out onto the water, and when you’re expected back, so they know to call for help if you don’t return.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'I just can't believe that it took so long': Body found in wreckage 3 months after deadly fire
A man accused of arson in a January Old Strathcona apartment fire is expected to be charged with manslaughter after a body was discovered in the burned building late last month.
No proof man lied to brother about number of kittens born in litter, B.C. tribunal rules
A man was denied a $5,000 payout from his brother after a B.C. tribunal dismissed his claim disputing how many kittens were born in a litter.
Work stoppage possible as WestJet issues lockout notice to maintenance engineers' union
A lockout notice issued by WestJet to a union representing aircraft maintenance engineers could result in a work stoppage next week.
Quebec police hand out hundreds of tickets to Hells Angels and other bikers before 'first run' meeting
Quebec provincial police handed out hundreds of fines to Hells Angels members and other supporting motorcycle clubs who met for their 'first run' in a small town near Sherbrooke, Que.
Auston Matthews skates ahead of Game 7, status unclear with season on the line
Auston Matthews was back on the ice with his teammates Saturday.
Russia puts Ukrainian President Zelenskyy on its wanted list
Russia has put Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on its wanted list, Russian state media reported Saturday, citing the interior ministry’s database.
Snakes almost on a plane: U.S. TSA discovers a bag with small snakes in passenger's pants
According to an X post by the Transportation Security Administration, officers at the Miami International Airport found the small bag of snakes hidden in a passenger's trousers on April 26 at a checkpoint.
A Chinese driver is praised for helping reduce casualties in a highway collapse that killed 48
A Chinese truck driver was praised in local media Saturday for parking his vehicle across a highway and preventing more cars from tumbling down a slope after a section of the road in the country's mountainous south collapsed and killed at least 48 people.
Feds hope to table foreign interference legislation next week: LeBlanc
Democratic Institutions Minister Dominic LeBlanc says he plans to table legislation this week to help the federal government address foreign interference, but he wouldn't say whether the proposal will include a foreign agent registry.