Sadly drowning quite common and a terrible way to die. A circumstance like that is quite common in any area where there's a lot of islands because people can't judge distances and are overconfident when it comes to swimming.
A lot of tourists have died in Croatia trying to swim to "nearby" islands. What looks like 200m is in fact 700-800m with very strong currents and people get swept away, or back towards their starting point so they swim endlessly in basically the same spot.
Happens less these days with more people around and quick rescue but water isn't something to be laughed at.
It would be interesting to know how wide the canal was but even if it was small, it doesn't surprise me someone died.
