Montreal boy, 17, drowns in ocean waters during swim training in Florida

The body of a Montreal teenager has been found in the Gulf of Mexico. William Zhang, 17, was visiting Florida with his swim team for a swim camp. He did not return to shore at the end of swimming drill on Wednesday morning.

The boy was a student at Collège Notre-Dame, a private high school in Montreal, and was a member of the school's swim club. He was with the school's swim club at the time, a spokesperson with the Quebec Swimming Federation confirmed. The young swimmer was not a member of the federation.

The Pinellas County Sheriff's Office, on the west-central coast of Florida, confirmed the boy's death on Wednesday at 10:30 p.m.

"Per detectives, the swim coaches advised that they checked for riptides or hazards before the swimmers entered the water," a news release reads.

A Quebec teen has drowned off the coast of Florida (NBC News)
Pinellas Suncoast Fire Rescue Chief Jeffrey Davidson told local media outlets the water was choppy on Wednesday morning and rip currents were visible, but conditions improved as the day went on.

He said the swim group was a "couple of hundred yards off the coast."

A 911 caller advised local authorities that a swimmer was carried offshore.
William Zhang, 17, was taking part in swimming drills and never returned to shore (NBC News)
Search efforts were conducted by the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office, Indian Shores Police Department, Pinellas Suncoast Fire Rescue, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC), and the United States Coast Guard.

Zhang was located and pronounced dead at 5:23 p.m. Wednesday.

Police say the incident does not appear suspicious in nature and next of kin has been notified. An investigation continues.

Concerns about open water training

Francis Menard, executive director of the Quebec Swimming Federation, he said while the College Notre-Dame swim team is not under their federation, it is unusual for high school athletes to be swimming in open water.

“It's a higher level skill training in open water. And for what I know, swimming activities organized in high schools in Quebec are not very high-level or high skilled athletes, so it’s more [recreational], even if they do competitions inside the RSEQ,” he said, referring to the Quebec Student Sports Network, the governing body for school sport in the province. “So I have questions myself about do the athletes have the preferred skill set to be able to train to open water there.”

Menard said he knows many swim teams visit Florida during March break for training.

The high school said it was providing support to Zhang's family and teammates.

"Our priority is to support those directly affected by this terrible event. We have deployed additional support resources and are in close communication with local authorities in Tampa Bay to try to better understand what happened. Our thoughts are with the parents of young William Zhang," said a spokesperson in a statement to CTV News.