A man who died late Sunday afternoon after being pulled from the frigid waters of Lake Simcoe has been identified as 55-year old Robin Clark of Oro-Medonte.
Police say Clark had been attempting to repair a submerged water pipe.
Barrie OPP, County of Simcoe Paramedics and Oro-Medonte firefighters were called to the location on Forrester Road around 4:30 p.m. Sunday.
"He was fixing a pump or water line, got tangled in something and was trapped underneath the water," Oro-Medonte Fire Chief Hugh Murray told BarrieToday. "Something went terribly wrong,"
Murray said Clark, who was wearing a wet suit, was vital signs absent when firefighters pulled him out.
"Four firefighters had to cut him free," said Fire Chief Murray. "The firefighters had put on rescue suits for the cold water."
Firefighters and paramedics performed CPR in a valiant attempt to revive the man but the OPP says he was pronounced dead at the scene.
A port mortem conducted at the Centre of Forensic Sciences building in Toronto determined that the cause of Clark's death was drowning.
County of Simcoe Paramedic Services Deputy Chief J.C. Gilbert said paramedics provided care to four patients on the scene.
One of the patients was the man who drowned.
The others are unidentified heroes who braved the icy waters prior to firefighters arriving in a bid to rescue Clark.
"Three patients were assessed for mild hyperthermia and refused transport," Gilbert said.
