Residents of Chilliwack are calling on the city to take action, after a four-year-old girl drowned in a pond at the Chilliwack Landing Leisure Centre on B.C. Day.
A change.org petition has been circulating, saying the pond “is surrounded by hedges” and is “invisible to the naked eye.”
“I am starting this petition as a mom who has been (sic) not stopped crying, watching this tragedy unfold,” wrote Jessica Macgillivray, who started the online petition.
“This was completely avoidable if the city of Chilliwack had a fence around it in the first place. Please sign this petition. I know it does not help to bring this child back, but it will save somebody else’s.”
Mounties, paramedics, and firefighters were called to the water park at the centre around 8 p.m. Monday, Aug. 5, for reports of a drowning incident.
Police say the young girl had been pulled out of the water by her family and was being given CPR by bystanders when first responders arrived.
Emergency responders took over and rushed the girl to the hospital, where she died.
The RCMP is providing support to the family through its Victim Services. It is thanking bystanders and other first responders who tried to save the child.
As of noon Thursday, the petition had over 1,200 signatures of its 1,500 goal.