Calgary child in life-threatening condition after lake incident

A child is in critical condition at a Calgary hospital after being pulled from a city lake.

A child around the age of nine is in critical condition after an incident at Mahogany Lake in southeast Calgary.

Emergency crews were called to the lake around 7:15 p.m. Sunday for reports of a young child who was swimming and may have drowned.

EMS says the child was located and taken to South Health Campus in life-threatening condition.

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This is not the first serious water-related incident at the lake.

Last year, two 20-year-old men drowned at Mahogany Lake — a tragedy that rocked the community.

They were later identified by friends and family as Caelan Escalante and Yagazie Ike-Peters, remembered as faith-driven, community-focused young men.

• READ MORE: ‘Hold on to one another and live like Caelan would live’: Grieving father of drowned 20-year-old man reflects on his son’s life

In the wake of that incident, a petition calling for lifeguards at Calgary’s community lakes gathered several thousand signatures.

Water safety experts continue to stress that drowning can happen quickly and silently, and emphasize the importance of prevention, including wearing a life jacket.