July 8 (UPI) — Two separate drownings occurred at Glacier National Park in Montana over the weekend, two weeks after a woman was swept over a waterfall.
On Saturday morning, a 26-year-old man from India was hiking past the gorge on Avalanche Lake Trail when he was seen going into the creek and taken underwater. He resurfaced but witnesses said he was swept under by the current.
The incident was reported at 8:37 a.m.
The body of the man, who was living and working in California and on vacation with friends, has not been recovered.
The other drowning was a 28-year-old man from Nepal who was an inexperienced swimmer, according to friends interviewed at the scene Saturday night.
Witnesses said he was swimming 30 yards out in Lake McDonald near the Sprague Creek Campground when he started to struggle and went underwater. The drowning was reported at 6:50 p.m.
The man, whose body was located 30 yards offshore and 35 to 40 feet underwater, had been on vacation from Portland, Oregon.
Last month, Gillian Tones, 26, of Pennsylvania, drowned after slipping on rocks and getting swept over waterfalls near Virginia Falls.
As of 2017, there were 56 people who had drowned in the park, the Great Falls Tribune reported.
Glacier National Park Conservancy said water is the main cause of fatalities in Glacier National Park.
“Please use extreme caution near water. Swift, cold glacial streams and rivers, moss-covered rocks, and slippery logs all present dangers,” the conservancy said. “Children, photographers, boaters, rafters, swimmers, and fishermen have fallen victim to these rapid, frigid streams and deep glacial lakes. Avoid wading in or fording swift streams. Never walk, play, or climb on slippery rocks and logs, especially around waterfalls. When boating, don’t stand up or lean over the side, and always wear a lifejacket.”
The park gets its name from the many glaciers and glacial forces that shaped its rugged topography over 2 million years.
Glacier National Park, which was established in 1910, covers about 1 million acres of land, and contains 25 “active” glaciers that move due to thawing and melting. It was joined together with Waterton Lakes National Park in Alberta in 1932 as the world’s first international peace park.
