A 61-year-old man is dead after a a vessel capsized near Wreck Beach in Vancouver Monday afternoon.
Earlier in the day, the Joint Rescue Coordination Centre (JRCC) received a mayday distress call from a tugboat operator. This was followed up with the University RCMP receiving a report of a body washing ashore on Tower Beach near UBC.
The vessel had apparently capsized and the body was pulled ashore by a bystander.
University RCMP, Vancouver Fire Department, Canadian Coast Guard, and BC Emergency Health Services immediately assisted in rescue efforts and life-saving first aid was provided.
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“Despite the best efforts and prompt care of first responders, the man was pronounced deceased at the scene,” said Staff Sergeant Kris Clark, Senior Media Relations Officer for the BC RCMP.
“Tragically, despite an excellent coordinated effort by multiple responding agencies, the lone operator could not be revived.”
While the investigation is still ongoing, all indications are that the man was operating the vessel alone and no one else was injured. The exact cause of the accident is still being determined, but “exceptionally strong winds and turbulent waters” are likely factors that caused the boat to capsize.
The BC Coroner’s Service, Transportation Safety Board of Canada and WorkSafeBC are running concurrent and parallel investigations with the help of police.