Man in his 70s dead after Hornby motor boat mishap

VICTORIA — A man in his 70s is dead after a boat overturned off Hornby Island on Tuesday. The other man in the boat was able to right it, row to shore and call for help.

The two men were in a small aluminum motor boat when it capsized just before 5 p.m., Hornby Island Fire Chief Doug Chinnery told the Victoria Times Colonist. The man in his 70s was unable to stay afloat without a life-jacket.

His friend, who is in his 60s, dragged the man to Norris Rock, Chinnery said, which is 500 metres from Toby Island, off the southern tip of Hornby Island.

The friend righted the boat and rowed to shore where he found a construction crew who called 911, Chinnery said. The fire department received a call around 5 p.m. about a man with hypothermia and another man who was possibly deceased.

The first-arriving medical crew looked after the survivor. The Canadian Coast Guard was dispatched but were about 25-minutes away, Chinnery said, so the second medical crew boarded a boat from Hornby Island Diving to find the man on Norris Rock.

The man was found unresponsive.

“They got him into the boat and worked on him on the way back to Ford’s Cove Marina where the B.C. Air Ambulance crew and our doctor met them to continue resuscitation efforts,” Chinnery said.

The man was pronounced dead at the marina.

The survivor was taken to North Island Hospital in Courtenay. Earlier information that no one was taken to hospital was incorrect.

It appears the men came to Hornby Island on a day trip from Vancouver Island, Chinnery said.

Comox Valley RCMP is investigating what caused the boat to capsize. The seas weren’t rough Tuesday evening, Chinnery said.

The boat didn’t have a motor when it was towed back to the marina, but Chinnery said it’s unclear when it came off.

The B.C. Coroners Service confirmed it’s investigating the death of a man in his late 70s.