Mutual Aid - Water Recovery Operation - Kamsack RCMP: Drowning

On Monday, April 29th, the Saskatoon Fire Department received a mutual aid request from the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency on behalf of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) to respond to the area of Kamsack, Saskatchewan for a water recovery operation on the Assiniboine River. The Office of Emergency Management in Saskatoon worked with municipal, provincial, and federal partners to coordinate and initiate response to the area.

The Saskatoon Fire Department's Surface Water Rescue Team mobilized and was deployed at approximately 1:09 this afternoon. Kamsack is located approximately 350 kilometres from Saskatoon. A total of six crew members, equipped with one specialized water rescue craft and one water rescue boat began their search at approximately 6:06 this evening. A significant presence of emergency personnel and community representatives were on scene to support and aid in search efforts.

The search area included a low-head weir with fast-moving and unpredictable water. The Saskatoon Fire Department's specialized water rescue craft has been designed to effectively perform in such conditions while maintaining the safety of the craft's operators. The Surface Water Rescue Team searched along the weir's boil and upriver from the low-head weir with search efforts remaining inconclusive.

The Saskatoon Fire Department is assisting under the command and direction of the RCMP. All requests for information regarding this incident should be directed towards that authority and future updates to the community on the progress of search efforts can be obtained through the RCMP News portal.