Drum circle participants 'obstructed and harassed' lifeguards on Vancouver beach, park board says
Lifeguards have stopped patrolling a Vancouver beach on Tuesday nights because the crowd at a weekly drum circle has become unmanageable and unsafe, according to the park board.
The move was announced in a tweet, the board saying the decision to halt patrols at 7 p.m. was necessary to ensure the safety of lifeguards and followed an "incident" at Third Beach in Stanley Park earlier this month.
"All those who attend the drum circle are being warned of the risks associated with unsupervised swimming," the tweet continued.
TWEET EMBED: In an email, a spokesperson provided more details. On July 12, guards pulled an unconscious person out of the water and performed first aid until an ambulance arrived.
"At the time of the incident, it is reported the number of people at Third Beach exceeded 4,000," the statement reads.
"Other lifeguards on site reported they were obstructed and harassed by individuals in the crowd, both physically and verbally, as they attempted to reach the unconscious individual."
The weekly gathering was described as an "unsanctioned and unpermitted event" that has been drawing increasingly large and unruly crowds to the waterfront in recent weeks. The park board spokesperson said it has gotten to the point where rangers and lifeguards can’t ensure their own safety or the safety of the people participating in the drum circle.
The Vancouver Park Board will be meeting with the police department and city protective services to "establish a coordinated approach and long-term strategy to manage the congregation of large crowds and associated bylaw infractions."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING 4 teens stabbed outside Montreal high school: police
Montreal police say four teenagers suffered stab wounds after an altercation near John F. Kennedy High School in the city's Villeray—Saint-Michel—Parc-Extension borough on Thursday.
Trudeau announces massive drop in immigration targets as Liberals make major pivot
The federal government is slashing immigration targets to levels that will flatten population growth as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau admits the government did not get the balance right after the COVID-19 pandemic.
'The mom is shattered': Body of employee who died at Halifax Walmart was found by her mother
The Maritime Sikh Society says the body of a young employee who died at a Walmart in Halifax last weekend was found by her mother.
'Horrific': Four people dead after Tesla slams into pillar and catches fire on Lake Shore Boulevard in Toronto
Four people are dead and another is in hospital after a Tesla driving through downtown Toronto at a high rate of speed crashed into a guardrail and struck a concrete pillar on Lake Shore Boulevard.
Vince McMahon, embattled former CEO of WWE, sued for allegedly enabling sexual abuse
A new lawsuit alleges Vince McMahon knowingly enabled the sexual exploitation of children by a WWE employee in the 1980s.
B.C. election recounts won't start until Sunday afternoon
Voting officials say recounts in two ridings that could determine the outcome of British Columbia's election won't start until Sunday afternoon.
DEVELOPING Woman stabbed to death in park in Ottawa's south end
Emergency crews responded to a call for a stabbing at Paul Landry Park on Uplands Drive, between Paul Anka Drive and Bennett Street, at 11:25 a.m. Thursday.
This radioactive gas is a leading cause of lung cancer. Here's how to check if it's in your home
Radon is a radioactive gas found in nearly every Canadian home. A new research study is putting a renewed spotlight on the invisible, odourless element that is the second-leading cause of lung cancer in Canada.
More straight couples are calling each other partner. Here's why
Within a year of dating, 31-year-old Siara Rouzer crossed a major relationship milestone. The guy she was seeing was no longer a boyfriend but her partner.