Drownings claim lives of 3 children in Manitoba in 4 days

Three children are deadafter separate drowningsin Manitoba over the past four days.

Two of them happened inthe Island Lake communities of northern Manitoba while the third was in Portage la Prairie in the south.

A 23-month-old boy was found in the water of Island Lake around 3 p.m. on June 15 and taken to the nursing station in Garden Hill First Nation, RCMP said in a news release, adding he was in the care of older siblings at the time.

The boy was transported to hospital in Winnipeg but died on June 18.

The same day the boy diedRCMP were called around 7:15 p.m. about a drowning in St. Theresa Point First Nation, about 14 kilometres across Island Lake from Garden Hill.The communities are about 465 kilometres northeast of Winnipeg.

A group of children were swimmingwhen two 10-year-old girlsswam out too far and started having difficulty, police said.

Both went under waterbut a bystander pulled one to safety. That girl was taken to the nursing station for treatment and has since recovered.

The other girl could not be found immediately but aFirst Nation safety officer with dive equipment located her in the water a short time later.

The girl was rushed to the nursing station, whereshe was pronounced dead.

"These deaths are incredibly tragic. These are small, tight-knit communities, and the impact of losing two young children is devastating," RCMP spokesperson Cpl. Julie Courchainesaid.

The latest drowning happened Mondayin a retention pond inPortage la Prairie.

A two-year-old boy was out with family members on a property nearOld Bridge Road around 7:30 p.m. when he wandered away from the group, police say.

A short time later he was foundin a retention pond near the residence.

The boy wastransported to hospital where he was pronounced dead.

RCMP continue to investigate the incident.

5 deaths in three weeks

Five young people have drowned in the province injust over three weeks.

A five-year-old girldrowned after wandering away from her home in Brochet, a remote fly-in community about 935 km northwest of Winnipeg on June 1.

When her family went looking for her, they found her in a nearby lake.

Meanwhile, a 12-year-old boy slipped and fell into the Winnipeg River atSturgeon Falls inWhiteshell Provincial Park on May 27.

An RCMP underwater recovery team found the body of Usaid Habib around 1 a.m. on May 29.

Courchainecalled it "very concerning" to have so many drowning incidents at any time, but ever more so with this onlybeing the beginning of summer.

"My heart goes out to all these communities who are grieving," she said.