Two die in B.C. boating mishap

SECHELT, B.C. – Two search and rescue volunteers have died after a boating accident on a dangerous set of rapids on British Columbia’s Sunshine Coast.

The two women died late Sunday morning on the Skokumchuk rapids, about 60 kilometres north of Sechelt.

RCMP said four members of the Royal Canadian Marine Search and Rescue were heading through the rapids in a boat when the accident occurred.

“We’ve since learned that two of the occupants passed away as a result of the accident,” said RCMP Sgt. Mike McCarthy.

Capt. Annie Djiotsa, a spokeswoman for the Royal Canadian Navy, said the victims and the two survivors — both men — were in a rigid hull inflatable boat when it overturned.

The rescuers who pulled the men to safety were members of the same volunteer organization and were in a nearby boat, said McCarthy. The two victims were residents of Sechelt and their bodies have been removed from the scene, McCarthy said.

A Navy media release said the bodies of the deceased were found under the hull of the capsized boat, and the two volunteers were pronounced dead at about 1:15 p.m.

The boat was tied up at a local dock Sunday afternoon and members of the Transportation Safety Board of Canada were headed to the scene to investigate, McCarthy said.

Peter Sly, fire chief of the Egmont and District Volunteer Fire Department, said he watched the rescue from his home and saw several boats trying to respond to the overturned inflatable.