Savary Island (Rajeev Sharma): A late-night commercial clam-harvesting expedition ended in profound tragedy on Thursday after a vessel capsized off the northern coast of Savary Island, British Columbia, leaving three men dead and two others hospitalized. The fatal maritime accident prompted a multi-agency emergency search-and-rescue operation in the Strait of Georgia, northwest of Powell River, after the crew failed to return to their mainland home port.
The Joint Rescue Co-ordination Centre in Victoria initially received an emergency alert at approximately 10 PM on Thursday when the six-metre fiberglass fishing vessel failed to arrive at Lund Harbour as scheduled. Heavy, high-velocity winds and challenging sea conditions were reported in the area at the time of the vessel’s disappearance. In immediate response, the JRCC deployed an extensive array of tactical assets, including a Canadian Coast Guard lifeboat from the Powell River station, an inshore fast rescue craft from Cortes Bay, and a Royal Canadian Air Force Kingfisher aircraft from the 442 Transport and Rescue Squadron based out of Comox.
According to a formal statement released by the Powell River RCMP, the private harvesting vessel overturned roughly 500 to 1,000 metres away from the shoreline of the remote, off-grid island. At approximately 10:45 PM, two of the five men on board managed to swim through the cold waters to reach the safety of the beach, where they successfully located a communication point to alert search authorities. While the two survivors were being localized, Mounties teamed up with the Savary Island Volunteer Fire Department to execute an intensive night-time shoreline search for the remaining crew members. Tragically, first responders discovered the bodies of the three missing men washed ashore near the water line a short time later.
Emergency Health Services personnel assessed the two survivors at the scene before transferring them by boat back to the mainland, where they were transported to a Powell River hospital for clinical treatment and observation for severe hypothermia. Tla’amin Nation Hegus John Hackett confirmed on Friday that all five men involved in the capsizing are member citizens of the Tla’amin Nation, characterizing the sudden loss as an unimaginably devastating blow to the tight-knit Indigenous community. While the cultural center has been opened to provide immediate counseling and spiritual support to grieving relatives, the Powell River RCMP is actively assisting the BC Coroners Service with the ongoing technical investigation to determine the exact mechanical or environmental factors that caused the vessel to overturn.
