12 students seriously injured in suspected electrical incident at B.C. waterpark

Twelve students were taken to hospital Monday after what appears to have been an electrical incident at a waterpark in British Columbia’s Fraser Valley.

Cpl. Carmen Kiener with Chilliwack RCMP confirmed in an email that the children were in stable condition after sustaining “serious but non-life-threatening injuries” at Cultus Lake Waterpark, east of Vancouver.

Ken Hoff, assistant director of communications for the Coquitlam School District, said the students from Minnekhada Middle School were being assessed for unspecified injuries.

The incident occurred during a field trip for Grade 6 and 7 students, he said.

A statement from the waterpark posted on social media didn’t say what happened, only that a “serious incident” occurred near one of the rides in the queuing area and several guests, including children, were hurt.

BC Emergency Health Services said it had received a call shortly after 11 a.m. and dispatched ambulances, advanced care paramedics and other resources to the site.

Two of the 10 people hospitalized had to be transported by air ambulance, it said.

The cause of the incident was still under investigation, with WorkSafeBC taking conduct of the probe, Chilliwack RCMP said later Monday.

“At this time, there is no indication that the event was caused by a person, and investigators do not believe it to be the result of deliberate human action,” the Mounties said in a statement, adding there was no ongoing risk to the public.

Cultus Lake Waterpark said it would close for the next few days in order to conduct a thorough and independent investigation.

“We are fully co-operating with the authorities through the process of investigation and assessment. We are determined to ensure that something like this does not happen within our facility again.”

BC Hydro, meanwhile, said an initial investigation had identified an electrical issue originating on the customer’s side, rather than from the utility’s infrastructure.

“The safety of the public is our top priority, and we’re continuing to work co-operatively with the waterpark operator and will support the ongoing investigation in any way we can,” the provincial utility said in a statement.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 15, 2026.