6 missing in Strait of Georgia presumed drowned

The six people who have not been accounted for after a fishing charter boat capsized in the Strait of Georgia on Sunday are presumed to have drowned, Richmond RCMP says.

Maj. Gregory Clarke of the Joint Rescue Coordination Centre (JRCC) tells CityNews the search was called off after several hours, shortly before 10 p.m.

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“We searched the area very thoroughly. We had multiple assets from the Air Force, the Air Force helicopter and fixed-wing aircraft with a suite of sensors, the thermal imaging and freight cameras, as well as Coast Guard assets,” he said.

“We also had RCMP helicopters out there, civilian vessels of opportunity, BC Ferries, and Hullo Ferries were great at the initial onset as well in helping the search. So we had that area thoroughly covered very quickly.”

Police add that the RCMP’s Underwater Recovery Team (URT) will attend the area in the coming days to locate the capsized vessel using sonar.

“Their assessment of the conditions will determine whether a dive operation is feasible, or whether alternate resources, such as a remotely operated vehicle, may be required,” Police said in a written statement.

The vessel is believed to have sunk in very deep waters.

The RCMP has also launched an investigation into the incident, determining what led to the sinking.

“Police are working closely with Transport Canada, the Transportation Safety Board and other partner agencies to support the investigation and coordinate next steps,” the statement continued.

The identity of the six missing people has not yet been released, but authorities believe that the missing six people are four men and two women.

“Efforts are also underway to notify their respective next of kin.”

Meanwhile, two of the four rescued people, a 26-year old man and a 33-year-old woman, were able to leave the hospital, while another two, a 33-year-old man and a 28-year-old woman, remain in hospital in critical condition.

People were seen in open water 18 km southwest of YVR airport

Maj. Clarke says that the decision to suspend the search was not made lightly.

“As far as what goes into the decision, we do things through a series of steps and algorithms. We have drift modelling. We had live satellite data, marker buoys in the water tracking the drift and the currents where any potential missing people would go,” he said.

“We always adjust our search efforts towards those areas.”

He adds that people are expected to survive five to 10 hours if they are wearing a flotation device, but without one the ability to tread water and survive is “cut very short,” given the currents and water temperatures.

He said conditions in open waters were “pretty unforgivable,” as a strong wind warning was in effect on Monday for the Strait of Georgia south of Nanaimo.

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When conducting searches, he says, crews model the possibilities of survival.

“We did get reports that none of the 10 people were wearing life jackets, so that changes the survivability,” he said.

“We are very confident that had there been any survivors on the surface of the water, we would have found them by that time.”

The JRCC Victoria says it received the initial Mayday report of several people in the water without personal flotation devices around 10 nautical miles (18 kilometres) southwest of the Vancouver International Airport just before noon.

After a search that included aircraft from 19 Wing Comox, the Canadian Coast Guard, BC Ferries, several civilian vessels, and the RCMP, four people were recovered, it says.

The search for the remaining six people continued through the rest of the day.