FILE photo- Lake Tahoe’s icy waters are dangerous.
Katie Aldrich / EyeEm/Getty Images/EyeEmA San Francisco Bay Area man died on Lake Tahoe’s West Shore on June 11 after falling out of an inflatable tube that was being pulled by a rented pontoon boat, the Tahoe Daily Tribune reported.
Siosisa Vaitohi, 32, of San Mateo, was not wearing a life vest, Placer County Sheriff’s Office Sgt. Mike Powers told the Tribune.
“The family had rented a pontoon boat and wasn’t going very fast when the deceased fell off his tube,” Powers said. “He was a very large man, 5-feet-11 and 395 pounds, and they could not get him back on the boat.”
The cause of death was drowning.
Lake Tahoe is a big, deep and cold lake. With a maximum depth of 1,645 feet, Lake Tahoe is one of the deepest lakes in the world and the second deepest in the U.S. It’s also far colder than other lakes in the region. Water temperatures in June range from 50 to 64 degrees. (UC Davis posts real-time temperature readings and lake conditions). An average of six people die each summer on Lake Tahoe, the South Lake Tahoe Police Department told KCRA. Cold water shock is a common cause of death as the lake’s waters can be surprisingly frigid even on a sunny day. Even good swimmers are advised to wear life vests.
The Placer County Sheriff’s Office didn’t respond to requests for comment.
