Lifeguard push for fatal shores

AN ANGUISHED appeal for summer lifeguards at Lysterfield Lake reverberated through the community this year after a five-year-old boy drowned at the site in February.
Residents and Casey councillors made the impassioned plea for increased safety precautions at the popular swimming site, including lifesaving patrols and signage, after the tragedy marked the second death at the lake in just over a year.
The Rowville child was reported missing to police about 4.30pm on the day and he was located in the lake soon after by his father.
CPR was initiated on the boy by Belgrave police officers who first responded to the call, and an off-duty nurse, before an ambulance arrived at the scene and paramedics tried to resuscitate the child for up to an hour.
As a matter of urgent business in the next week’s council meeting, Councillor Louise Berkelmans called on the City of Casey to write to Parks Victoria, which manages Lysterfield Park Lake, to create a water safety plan for the area with the possible inclusion of lifeguard services.
In January 2013, a Cranbourne West man drowned while trying to rescue two children at Lysterfield Lake who had been using a dinghy. The children made it back to shore unharmed.
Life Saving Victoria (LSV) confirmed there have been three reported drowning deaths at Lysterfield Lake since 1 July 2000.