Police say two brothers have died after being pulled out of Lake Ontario along Toronto’s eastern waterfront late Sunday morning.
The young men, aged 17 and 22, were swimming in the lake close to Victoria Park Avenue and Queen Street East, where police say the two appear to have been camping.
Clothes, empty cans and water tubes were found at the site.
Passersby, one of whom was an off-duty nurse, spotted one man with his face down on the beach and alerted police just before 9 a.m.
The man didn’t have any vital signs when he was pulled from the water. Emergency crews managed to get a pulse on the victim, but he later died in hospital.
Moments after one brother was pulled from the water, rescue crews located the second victim, also without a pulse.
He was transported to hospital and later pronounced dead.
Toronto police said they have indentified the victims but they won’t be releasing their names at the family’s request.
Investigators are continuing to look into what led to the drownings.
“There were flotation devices down there so at this point it’s very possible that they were in the water just for recreational purposes and got into some form of distress,” Det. Matthew Routh told CTV Toronto.
While circumstances leading up to the drowning remain unclear, local residents said strong waves along the shore are a common concern in the area.
“The waves here at the water filtration plant are huge,” said Juan Uribe. “We’re even afraid of that the dogs might be pulled from the beach.”
With files from CTV Toronto’s Ashley Rowe
