Crab boat captain drowns when small boat flips in Johnstone Strait
VANCOUVER – A 48-year-old Comox man is missing and presumed drowned after his crab boat flipped off the east coast of Vancouver Island.
RCMP say two men were aboard an 8.5-metre aluminum boat when it capsized at about 9 p.m. Thursday, dumping both into the frigid waters of Johnstone Strait, midway between Campbell River and Port McNeill.
The 32-year-old deckhand was wearing a life-jacket and was able to swim to shore and get help, but by then the boat’s captain had been in the water for an hour.
Investigators believe he was not wearing a personal floatation device and drowned before rescue boats arrived.
A search for the missing man and the sunken crabbing boat continued Friday.
The victim’s name has not been released.
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