Child in life-threatening condition after being pulled from water at Britannia Beach

Ottawa paramedics say a child is in life-threatening condition after being pulled from the Ottawa River at Britannia Beach Monday afternoon.

Emergency responders were called to the beach at around 3:50 p.m. on reports that a young boy had gone under the water.

Ottawa firefighters who responded to the scene performed CPR before Ottawa paramedics arrived. The child was then taken to hospital by ambulance in critical condition.

Ottawa police were also at the scene. 

Emergency responders at Britannia Beach. June 3, 2024. (CTV viewer photo)

"I saw a beautiful boy who was underneath the water and he needed resuscitation," said Rachel Padden, who witnessed the incident. "It hurt my heart, big time. I've never seen anything like this in my life and I hope the little boy is okay."

Lifeguards are not yet posted at Britannia Beach. The City of Ottawa says supervised swimming will begin June 15 at Britannia, Mooney's Bay and Petrie Island beaches. 

Padden said she wants to see lifeguards at the beach earlier in the season, a sentiment shared by others.

Leslie Defazio lives nearby and visits the beach frequently. She said the City of Ottawa needs to recognize that people are going to the beach earlier.

"My suggestion is they know that it's warmer sooner now, so change the rule of bringing on the lifeguards sooner," she said. "It's not soon enough to say they're coming out June 15th and we're going to leave it open and people can just wander into the water... they can't say that anymore."

Defazio said she believes a paramedic and police officer should be regularly posted at the beach and older, more experienced lifeguards should be on hand as early as May 30.

--With files from CTV News Ottawa's Shaun Vardon