Nunavut cops save seven-year-old from drowning

A seven-year-old boy who fell off the community dock in Cambridge Bay into 10 feet of near-freezing water now owes his life to two RCMP members who plucked him from the bottom of the sea and used CPR techniques to restore his breathing.

The boy, whose name has not been released, had been playing on the dock with other children in the early morning hours of July 9, an RCMP news release said.

At around 12:30 a.m. July 9, a child accidentally knocked the seven-year-old off the dock and into the water.

Stunned by extreme cold, the boy fell into an immediate state of shock, lapsed into unconsciousness and sank to the bottom in about 10 feet of water.

A Cambridge Bay resident who noticed the commotion alerted Const. Greg Redl and Const. David Brown, who were on duty at the time.

When the two Mounties arrived at the dock, Redl took off his duty belt and then dove into the water to retrieve the child. He swam with the boy to shore, where Brown met them.

Brown then rushed the unconscious child to the nearby nursing station, laid him on the front steps and performed CPR.

The boy eventually started spewing water and breathing on his own.

Nursing staff arrived to provide the boy with more treatment, and police called the boy’s parents.

Police said the seven-year-old is expected to make a full recovery.