A 26-year-old man drowned Friday while working on a boat in B.C.'s Shuswap Lake.
Chase RCMP say they were called to the portion of the lake near Magna Bay around 8:45 a.m. with reports that a man had passed out and fallen into the water while doing maintenance work on a 20-foot Tige pleasure boat.
Witnesses said that he appeared to be in medical distress before he fell overboard about nine metres from shore. He was not wearing a lifejacket.
A local diver familiar with the area located the man's body about 14 metres below the surface an hour after he disappeared.
An autopsy will be performed to determine the cause of death, but police say drugs and alcohol are not suspected to be contributing factors.
Police are not releasing the victim's name.
The Lifesaving Society of B.C. says there is an average of 80 to 90 drownings in B.C. every year.
Drowning is the second most common cause of death in Canada, next to traffic accidents. In July and August, one person drowns every two days on average in B.C. alone.
