More warning signs and a taller fence are in place at Windsor's Sandpoint Beach following two recent drowning deaths.
An eight-foot fence was put in place near the western end of the beach Friday, enhancing existing fencing and warning signs, as the City of Windsor closed that side of the beach.
On May 23, 25-year-old Yogesh Bajgai and 22-year-old Rohit Dheer went swimming just west of the beach when they suddenly went underwater and did not resurface.
Bajgai was a refugee who relocated from the Bhutanese Refugee Camp Goldhap to Canada, while Dheer was an international student and was set to graduate from St. Clair College this month.
City officials report the pair entered the water from property west of the beach, where ships offload sand and gravel.
The part of the Detroit River in that area has a dangerous dropoff with strong currents.
Ward 7 Councillor Angelo Marignani told AM800's The Dan MacDonald Show that he's also a member of the Windsor-Essex County Health Unit Board of Directors, and the issue of water safety is something the health unit wants to promote to new students at St. Clair College and the University of Windsor.
"We're now going to be incorporating some water safety education components into that orientation week with our new students. So we're just looking at every way possible to improve the safety of that beach," he says.
"Keep in mind, too, that the people who passed away in that area, that's not on the beach's property; it's next to it, but you get strong currents that can pull you into that area. So please, please, stay within the assigned areas," he says.
Marignani adds that you should not go swimming alone or go in the water alone, and don't go in if there is a red flag out.
Since the beach opened in 1980, eight people have drowned in the water near there, including the two most recent cases.