3rd Child Dies: Your Heart Goes Out To The Families.

[eyethenkyew]

http://news.uk.msn.co...es-in-canoe-tragedy-1

Out of six people in the canoe, three children dead, one of the fathers is missing presumed drowned. They were on Loch Gairloch, an extremely large expanse of water in relation to their canoe, and which flows into the Sea of the Hebrides, part of the North Atlantic.

Should they have been there in the first place? I only ask this because bearing in mind the ages of the three kids who have perished, i.e. 2years, and two of them 5 years, weren't the two adults taking a massive risk in the first place?

How can the two families ever hope to get over this? My heart goes out to them in these dark days.

[emmie]

chas, it is what the rescue officer said on the news, that the buoyancy aids were part of the problem, life jackets would have likely kept them alive long enough to be rescued.

[Smowball]

I just thought the whole story sounded odd.Surely the point of lifejackets/buoyancy aids is to keep you afloat? How come the children drowned?And if the boat overturned then surely the father could swim?

[albaqwerty]

One of the kiddies was found face down in the water :-(
Maybe the father couldn't swim so was wearing a life-jacket?
Too many questions, but such a tragedy nonetheless.

[chas2008]

buoyancy aids can tip you on your front, face down, the water in the loch may have been so cold the kids could have passed out face down...

[Smowball]

Oh, I didnt realise that. I just also assume(rightly or wrongly) that a parent wouldnt take children out on the water if they couldnt swim themselves??

[Quizmonster]

"Buoyancy aids are exactly what they say."
That's not too helpful a suggestion, is it Chas? A passing tree-trunk would have been a buoyancy aid, as would a large helium balloon! In the current case - and at a more practical level - so would a set of arm-bands or a rubber waist-ring. I am still not sure, therefore, what the words meant here.

[chas2008]

as i said perhaps the father thought he was doing the right thing and the kids would be safe , its only a tragedy like this that made me question the use of buoyancy aids with my grandsons.

[chas2008]

'buoyancy aid'is a specific form of flotation device used when canoing/sailing etc.(or even leraning to swin) not just anything that floats !

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buoyancy_aid

[chas2008]

oops, typo error-
learning to swim

[Quizmonster]

Since I am not involved in swimming or canoeing, I simply gave the words their literal meaning. Thus, to me, a 'buoyancy aid' is - by definition - "anything which helps one to stay afloat". Given that you are involved in such activities and the manifest danger of the devices you refer to, I'm surprised that you felt them adequate for the safety of your grandchildren. A similar river-accident in England a month or two ago...never mind a sealoch accident in Scotland...clearly revealed the dangers of water absolutely anywhere.