Canadian, U.S. coast guards train for tour vessel disaster off Victoria
A large-scale Canadian Coast Guard exercise was held near the Trial Islands off Victoria on Thursday, with members of the U.S. Coast Guard and local first responders.
The scenario was a whale-watching vessel catching fire, with multiple injured people in the water and on the shore.
A large-scale Canadian Coast Guard exercise was held near the Trial Islands off Victoria on Thursday, with members of the U.S. Coast Guard and local first responders. (CTV News)
Several coast guard cadets played the injured victims onboard the burning boat, along with life-sized dummies floating in the water.
Rescue boats transported the injured passengers to Ogden Point where paramedics and firefighters s were waiting to asses and treat the victims.
The coast guard says the purpose of the on-water training is to practise search and rescue techniques, risk assessment and other related skills in case of a real disaster.
“It’s a constant risk we have here on the coast and we need to be ready to respond and these types of exercises are the best way to increase that level of preparedness,” says Mariah McCooey, the western region superintendent of maritime search and rescue for the Canadian Coast Guard.
“Getting out there on the water and testing out our interoperability, communication and then that key infrastructure with the shore side and the handoff of patients.”
The U.S. Coast Guard cutter Blue Shark participated in the exercise, bringing an extra element of realism to the scenario.
McCooey says the Canadian and US coast guards work regularly with each other during incidents in the Strait of Juan de Fuca.
“It really did put everyone through the test,” says McCooey. “That’s really important for figuring out where we have areas to improve and also the things we were doing really well.”
Although the full analysis of the mock disaster is not yet complete, the rescue exercise was considered a success Thursday.
The Canadian Coast Guard is planning similar training events in the region next year.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'They needed people inside Air Canada:' Police announce arrests in Pearson gold heist
Police say one former and one current employee of Air Canada are among the nine suspects that are facing charges in connection with the gold heist at Pearson International Airport last year.
Why drivers in Eastern Canada could see big gas price spikes, and other Canadians won't
Drivers in Eastern Canada face a big increase in gas prices because of various factors, especially the higher cost of the summer blend, industry analysts say.
Customers disappointed after email listing $60K Tim Hortons prize sent in error
Several Tim Horton’s customers are feeling great disappointment after being told by the company that an email stating they won a boat worth nearly $60,000 was sent in error.
Toronto Raptors player Jontay Porter banned from NBA
Toronto Raptors player Jontay Porter has been handed a lifetime ban from The National Basketball Association (NBA) following an investigation which found he disclosed confidential information to sports bettors, the league says.
As GC Strategies partner is admonished by MPs, RCMP confirms search warrant executed
The RCMP confirmed Wednesday it had executed a search warrant at an address registered to GC Strategies. This development comes as MPs are enacting an extraordinary, rarely used parliamentary power, summoning one of its contractors to appear before the House of Commons to be admonished publicly for failing to answer questions related to the ArriveCan app.
Woman who pressured boyfriend to kill his ex in 2000s granted absences from prison
A woman who pressured her boyfriend into killing his teenage ex more than a decade ago will be allowed to leave prison for weeks at a time.
Attempt to have murder charge quashed against alleged serial killer dismissed by judge
A motion filed by the man accused of killing four Indigenous women in Winnipeg to have one of those murder charges quashed has been dismissed by the judge – weeks before the start of his trial.
Government proposes new policy for federally regulated employees to disconnect from work
In their 2024 budget, the federal government wants to amend the Canada Labour Code, so employers in federally regulated sectors will eliminate work-related communication with employees outside of scheduled hours. If implemented, this would affect roughly 500,000 across the country.
Earthquake jolts southern Japan
An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 6.4 hit southern Japan late on Wednesday, said the Japan Meteorological Agency, without issuing a tsunami warning.