Six people were rescued from the waters off Mayne Island by a BC Ferries vessel and members of the Coast Gaurd Saturday morning.
The "Spirit of Vancouver Island" was on its 9:00 am run from Tsawwassen to Swartz Bay when they got the call from the Coast Guard.
“At around 9:45, a small runabout vessel was sinking off of Maine Island and four people were in the water,” said B.C. Ferries executive Director of Communications Deborah Marshall. “When we went over to assess, there were also two kayakers that went over to help but the two kayaks flipped so we ended up helping six people out of the water.”
The six people are going to recover nicely according to Marshall but were very cold.
“The boaters said the craft had some major flooding and then a large wave came over the side,” said Major Justin Olsen with the Joint Rescue Co-ordination Centre in Victoria.
The JRCC says the four people from the 21 foot craft were from Tswassen and were taken back to the mainland. The kayakers are believed to be from Mayne Island.
The boat remains fully submerged and there appears to be no pollution. The coast guard is monitoring it.
B.C. Ferries has responded to about a half dozen emergency rescue calls this summer according to Marshall.