Couple in their 50s drown while doing SUP on Shizuoka lake

You should not drown with a life jacket on. Something is wrong here

The two were wearing life jackets.

Were they from Daiso or something?

Probably not fastened.

No offense to the dead and their family but I saw a pic of that lake, placid and small. If you aren't a decent swimmer maybe don't do SUP.

What? The life jackets float. So do the paddle and board. Plus a calm lake. This doesn't make any sense.

nonu6976Today 05:04 pm JST

Probably not fastened.

I'm thinking they were fastened and didn't know how to disengage.

Wearing a life jacket and wearing one that is fastened properly between your legs are two completely different things.

Lake Sesso is very well-known for its emerald green colour:

https://exploreshizuoka.jp/en/blog/visiting-okuoikojo-station-where-the-impressive-and-spectacular-views-surprise-the-world-take-a-retro-train-and-enjoy-a-relaxing-and-refreshi/

How possible ?

Anyway, don’t do swimming activities if you can’t swim. That is lesson A of life.

RIP

How'd they manage to drown with life jackets on? Were they wearing them like the kids on scooters wear a helmet hanging off their heads with the neck strap around their throats? Did they just not have them on properly at all?

So... I guess they didn't know how to swim. Venturing into an activity like SUP and not knowing how to swim. Literally a Darwin Award.

I've been trying to teach my partner how to swim so he doesn't run into a situation like this but so far I've failed at it, since he still afraid to go under the water. And yet, loves going to the beach. An accident waiting to happen.

The police needs to investigate this !??? something about this that is not right.

The two were wearing life jackets.

Urm, what were the life jackets made of, paper? If properly inflated and worn, they should keep the wearer afloat.

For my age I would avoid unsafe sports. Today I did one of my favorite sports besides bbquing and walking, gardening, and as I was ready to make a move, a sharp stabbing pain hit my back. Imagine that happens while rock climbing, kayaking, etc.

Sometimes when you hit chilly water suddenly you go into shock. If they were also not swimmers then it's easy to panic. Or it was a murder, who knows these days?

How do you drown in a lake while wearing life jackets??

If the man's lifejacket was undersized or defective and he panicked in the water, his weight might drag down the woman trying to save him even if her jacket was enough for her alone.

What did the other guy do just watch them drown then call the police??

Something very wrong about this set of circumstances!

As already mentioned, something had to have gone wrong. I’ve had a boat flipped during river rafting in a river with a current, all with life jackets and nobody drowned. Another instance at kayaking at a lake, my phone died but nobody drowned. Not sure if life jackets are equipped differently but once it’s put on, it’ll float.

nonu6976Oct. 14 05:04 pm JST

Probably not fastened.

Yes, or worn incorrectly, not the right size, or possibly defective somehow. It's mind-boggling how it could happen to two people at the same time, though. RIP.

Not clear in most of the reports that I saw, but there is this mention of the guy going over the weir, a kind of overflow dam, and losing his balance, and the lady trying to rescue him, and both drowning.

現場にはダムがあり男性がダムの段差でバランスを崩し湖に転落したため、女性が助けようとしましたが、そのまま２人とも溺れたということです。

nandaka... - yes, I saw that scene on the tv news, but no clear explanation.

The weir was not so high 1+ mtr, but probably freak you out if you went over.

2 boards were shown floating on the downward side of the weir.

Still hard to imagine drowning - unless as many suggested - life jackets were not properly worn and /or they couldn't swim at all, so couldn't paddle a few mtrs to their boards.

Sad all round.

nandakandamanda

Not clear in most of the reports that I saw, but there is this mention of the guy going over the weir, a kind of overflow dam, and losing his balance, and the lady trying to rescue him, and both drowning.

That would explain a lot! I have read lots of warnings about the dangerous turbulances behind weirs.

The informative link from JT poster 'nandakanandamanda' mentions a "weir", which I suspect refers to the Nagashima Dam Secondary Dam. The main dam is enormous -- over 100 metres in height, but the Secondary Dam according to Wikipedia: "Under normal conditions, this check dam is completely underwater and cannot be seen from the surface."

[As the Google link is too long, for photographs of this dam site, search for 'Nagashima Secondary Dam'...]