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Whitney Pier man, 24, dead after jet ski overturns on Bras d'Or Lake

Two people were using a jet ski on Bras d'Or Lake when it overturned Saturday. One individual made it to shore, but the other did not. (Gary Mansfield/CBC - image credit)
Two people were using a jet ski on Bras d'Or Lake when it overturned Saturday. One individual made it to shore, but the other did not. (Gary Mansfield/CBC - image credit)

A 24-year-old man from Whitney Pier, N.S., is dead after a boating accident on Bras d'Or Lake Saturday.

Baddeck RCMP were called to the lake near Beinn Bhreagh at 3:37 p.m. AT after a report that a jet ski had overturned more than a kilometre from the shore.

RCMP said two people were on the jet ski when it overturned around 1 p.m.

The male passenger swam to shore to get help while the operator stayed by the jet ski. Both men were wearing life jackets.

Just after 4 p.m., the Joint Rescue Co-ordination Centre in Halifax was called in. Lt.-Cmdr. Brian Owens, a spokesperson for the JRCC, said a CH-149 Cormorant helicopter from CFB Greenwood and several Canadian Coast Guard vessels were called in to assist in the search.

Tom Ayers/CBC
Tom Ayers/CBC

Local RCMP boats and two ground search teams also helped.

"The search continued into the evening and overnight into this morning and unfortunately this morning, ground search found the individual deceased," Owens said Sunday.

RCMP said the man was recovered from the shoreline near Ross Ferry just after 8 a.m. and was pronounced dead at the scene.

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