Boaters rescued off Vancouver Island after fleeing burning vessel
Two people are safe after their 14-metre vessel caught fire and sank in rough seas off the north end of Vancouver Island.
The operators of the 14-metre pleasure craft issued a mayday call over marine radio around 1:30 p.m. Monday, according to a spokesperson for Canada’s Maritime Forces Pacific (MARPAC).
Military and coast guard personnel at the Joint Rescue Coordination Centre in Victoria were unable to locate the source of the distress signal and subsequent attempts to make contact over the emergency channel went unanswered.
Coincidentally, a floatplane pilot who happened to be over the area spotted a large vessel burning near Egg Island, B.C., and called authorities to report that two people were in a rowboat apparently heading for shore.
A Buffalo search-and-rescue plane and a Cormorant helicopter were dispatched from Canadian Forces Base Comox, and the floatplane circled the scene for nearly an hour before the first rescuers arrived.
The Buffalo aircraft was first on scene and dropped a radio and a sea-rescue kit, including a life raft, down to the rowboat, according to MARPAC spokesperson Sub-Lt. Joshua Ehnisz.
A pair of coast guard vessels stationed two hours away in Port Hardy, B.C., were also sent to the scene.
The rescue plane remained over the area while the helicopter was re-routed after determining the two lifeboat occupants were the only people aboard the stricken vessel when the fire broke out.
A fishing boat picked up the two survivors approximately 15 minutes later. The duo were eventually transferred to a coast guard vessel and taken to Port Hardy.
The stranded boaters were uninjured and did not require medical attention, according MARPAC. Their 14-metre pleasure craft burned and sank as the coast guard arrived.
Ehnisz estimated the seas were 4.5 metres high at the time of the rescue.
Egg Island is approximately 40 kilometres north of Vancouver Island.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
Decoy bear used to catch man who illegally killed a grizzly, B.C. conservation officers say
A man has been handed a lengthy hunting ban and fined thousands of dollars for illegally killing a grizzly bear, B.C. conservation officers say.
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
OPP responds to apparent video of officer supporting anti-Trudeau government protestors
The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) says it's investigating an interaction between a uniformed officer and anti-Trudeau government protestors after a video circulated on social media.
An emergency slide falls off a Delta Air Lines plane, forcing pilots to return to JFK in New York
An emergency slide fell off a Delta Air Lines jetliner shortly after takeoff Friday from New York, and pilots who felt a vibration in the plane circled back to land safely at JFK Airport.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Loud boom in Hamilton caused by propane tank, police say
A loud explosion was heard across Hamilton on Friday after a propane tank was accidentally destroyed and detonated at a local scrap metal yard, police say.