At least one dead after B.C. fishing boat capsizes off Washington coast
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The B.C. Coroners Service is investigating at least one death after a Shawnigan Lake-based commercial fishing boat capsized early Tuesday morning in the waters off Washington state.
One fisherman was found alive in a life boat by U.S. Coast Guard officers and, after an extensive search, two fishermen were recovered. The coast guard would not speak to the condition of the two others; however, the B.C. Coroners Service confirmed one death. It did not release details on the other fisherman.
Multiple Coast Guard units received a radio mayday call about 2 a.m. Tuesday from one of the fishermen aboard the 20-metre Arctic Fox II reporting that the vessel was taking on water and the three fisherman planned to abandon ship, the U.S. Coast Guard said in a statement.
The boat was about 136 kilometres offshore of Cape Flattery, which is the northwesternmost point of the contiguous United States and just south of Port Renfrew in Juan de Fuca Strait.
The fisherman reported they were wearing survival suits.
An MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew from Oregon and a search-and-rescue aircraft from California searched from the air and spotted a lifeboat carrying one survivor. The fisherman was hoisted into the helicopter. He was taken to Coast Guard Station Neah Bay and was transported to a local medical clinic where he was in stable condition. The U.S. Customs and Border Patrol assisted in taking the fisherman back to Canada.
“The individual’s proper use of survival suit and the deployment of the life raft played a role in the member’s survival,” said U.S. Coast Guard public affairs officer Petty Officer Michael Clark. What caused the vessel to take on water will be the focus of the investigation, Clark said. It’s still unclear whether Transport Canada will lead the investigation because it involved a Canadian vessel, Clark said.
The Arctic Fox II is registered to Teague Fishing Corp. in Shawnigan Lake, according to Transport Canada’s vessel registry. The person who answered the company’s phone Tuesday said they would not be providing any statements to the media.
kderosa@timescolonist.com
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