Young woman falls from boat, drowns near Pangnirtung

A 20-year-old woman from Pangirtung fell off a boat and drowned near that community on Oct. 21.

Shortly after midnight on Oct. 21, Pangnirtung’s RCMP members learned that a woman had fallen off a boat.

A news release from the RCMP said Samantha Battye, 20, had just boarded the boat before falling into the water, where the current swept her away.

After attempts to find her failed, the RCMP requested assistance from local search and rescue teams as well as volunteers from the Canadian Rangers.

“The search was not successful,” the news release said.

Ground and boat patrols resumed early in the morning. At about 7:00 a.m. searchers found Battye’s body on the shore of the fiord.

Battye was pronounced deceased at the Pangnirtung health centre, the news release said.

Police said alcohol “was a factor in the event.”

On Oct. 20, Transport Canada issued a news release to remind Nunavut boaters about some basic boating safety advice so that their trips out on the water remain safe.

Transport Canada’s advice is to:

• Wear your life-jacket or personal flotation device;

• Don’t overload your boat; and

• Don’t forget your sail plan to let people know where you are going.

From 2007 to 2010, nearly 40 per cent of boaters who died were out hunting and fishing. Most were not wearing a life-jacket at the time.