Coast guard rescues 4 from frigid waters off northern Vancouver Island
Four people were rescued from the frigid waters off northern Vancouver Island after their boat was damaged by pounding seas and they were forced to abandon ship Wednesday evening.
A spokesperson for B.C. Emergency Health Services says the agency received a call from the coast guard saying four people were in need of medical attention at approximately 6:40 p.m.
Three ambulances were dispatched to the coast guard dock in Port Hardy, B.C., where paramedics treated all four victims and transported them to hospital.
Authorities with the Joint Rescue Co-ordination Centre in Victoria say rescuers were alerted to a vessel in distress approximately seven nautical miles – or 13 kilometres – from Port Hardy at 6:19 p.m.
A nearby fish-farm vessel, the Coastal Server, spotted emergency flares from the four-member crew after the windows of their 7.5-metre workboat were smashed by surging waves, according to the coast guard.
Canadian Coast Guard ships Florencia Bay and Sir William Grenfell were dispatched to the scene, along with a pair of fast rescue boats and a Cormorant helicopter from Canadian Forces Base Comox.
The crew of one of the fast rescue boats pulled the stranded mariners from the water and delivered them to the paramedics on the coast guard dock, according to Maritime Forces Pacific spokesperson Acting Sub-Lt. Kim Wachockier.
The rescued boaters had been in the water for approximately 45 minutes and were treated for hypothermia, according to the coast guard.
B.C. Emergency Health Services said the condition of the patients was not available Thursday.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Trump confronts repeated boos during raucous Libertarian convention speech
Donald Trump was booed repeatedly while addressing Saturday night’s Libertarian Party National Convention.
This type of screen time has the worst effect on kids: experts
According to some experts, there is one type of screen time that is continuously excessive, and it's having a severe effect on our children.
Family of toddler found dead at small-town Ont. daycare no closer to answers after year of investigation
A year has passed since two-year-old Vienna Irwin was found on the property of a home-based daycare in small-town Ontario, but her family says they are no closer to answers of what happened that day.
Grayson Murray, two-time PGA Tour winner, dead at 30
Two-time PGA Tour winner Grayson Murray died Saturday morning at age 30, one day after he withdrew from the Charles Schwab Cup Challenge at Colonial.
Humboldt Broncos crash victims and families react to decision to deport truck driver
The family of one of the victims of the Humboldt Broncos bus crash in 2018 says they are 'thankful' for a decision by a Calgary immigration board to deport the driver of the truck involved.
Fatal plane crash reported near Squamish, B.C.
The Transportation Safety Board of Canada has confirmed it is working with local Mounties and the BC Coroners Service after a plane crash near Squamish, B.C. Friday night.
'God forgives but we don’t': Loud outburst from stabbing victim’s family during sentencing hearing
An emotional outburst in a London, Ont. courtroom Friday disrupted the sentencing hearing of a woman who pleaded guilty for her part in the death of 29-year-old Mohammed Abdallah.
Three dead after vehicle plunged down a 100-foot embankment in Shediac, N.B.
Three people have died after a vehicle veered off the road in Shediac N.B., Friday morning.
Appeal denied for Edmonton soldier accused of trying to kill her 3 children
An Edmonton woman found guilty of trying to kill her three children has been denied an appeal.