A teenage boy from Quebec died during swim training with a high school swim team in the Gulf of Mexico earlier this week, according to police in Florida.
The sheriff’s office in Pinellas County, just outside Tampa, said 17-year-old William Zhang was there with his swim team for a camp.
Zhang and other swimmers from the team were conducting drills Wednesday morning when authorities were called around 9 a.m. to the scene.
“It was discovered Zhang did not return to shore at the end of the drills,” the sheriff’s office said in a statement.
Swim coaches told investigators that “they checked for riptides or hazards before the swimmers entered the water,” according to police.
The sheriff’s office said a large-scale search got underway with the Indian Shores Police Department, the Pinellas Suncoast Fire Rescue, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. The United States Coast Guard also took part in the effort.
Zhang’s body was found several hours later around 5:23 p.m.
An investigation is underway, but police said Zhang’s death does not appear to be suspicious.
Collège Notre-Dame, the Montreal high school that Zhang attended, said the administration’s thoughts are with his parents.
“Our priority is to support people who are directly affected by this terrible event,” the school said in an email Friday. “We have deployed additional support resources and are in close communication with local authorities in Tampa Bay to try to better understand what happened.”
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The school’s swimmers and triathletes, as well as their coaches, have returned to Quebec, the school said. It declined to provide more information on the swim trip.
Quebec’s swimming federation wrote in a post Friday on social media it is there to offer “all the necessary support during this time of mourning.”
“We would like to express our deepest sadness and condolences to the family and loved ones of William Zhang,” the Fédération de natation du Québec said.
“Although William was not affiliated with our federation, his loss touches us and the entire aquatic community is in mourning.”
The federation said it will also “work closely with local authorities” to better understand what happened and that safety remains its priority for all athletes enrolled in training camps abroad.
— with files from The Canadian Press
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