Two men dead, one rescued after tugboat incident on B.C.’s north coast

KITIMAT, B.C. – Two men are dead and one man has been rescued after a tugboat incident on British Columbia’s north coast.

The RCMP say at 12:40 a.m. Thursday, the Joint Rescue Co-ordination Centre received an emergency beacon from a tugboat in the Gardner Canal near Kemano, about 75 kilometres southeast of Kitimat.

An RCMP West Coast Marine vessel stationed in Hartley Bay responded and found the first dead man, before the Canadian Coast Guard assisted and found the second dead man.

The Mounties say one man was spotted by a private helicopter on the shore and has been transported to local hospital.

B.C. Emergency Health Services says it received a call at 9:50 a.m. about a capsized tugboat near Kitimat and took one patient to hospital in serious but stable condition.

Police say the tugboat involved was towing a barge that was en route from Kitimat to Kemano.

The BC Coroners Service, WorkSafeBC and Transportation Safety Board have been notified and the coroners service will investigate the deaths.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 11, 2021.