Canadian Forces halt search for six missing after boat sink

A major search and rescue operation has concluded for six people missing in the Strait of Georgia after a charter boat sank off the coast of Richmond, British Columbia, on Sunday, June 28. Four other individuals were rescued from the water and taken to hospital.

The incident was reported to authorities just before noon on Sunday when a civilian vessel alerted the Joint Rescue Coordination Centre in Victoria that several people were in the water without personal flotation devices. The location was approximately 18 kilometres, or 10 nautical miles, southwest of Vancouver International Airport, near Roberts Bank.

A large-scale multi-agency response was immediately launched. The Canadian Armed Forces dispatched a CH-149 Cormorant helicopter and a CC-295 Kingfisher aircraft from 19 Wing Comox. The Canadian Coast Guard sent its hovercraft Siyay and a lifeboat from Station Ganges. Royal Canadian Marine Search and Rescue auxiliary stations, RCMP vessels and helicopters, and multiple ferries from BC Ferries and Hullo Ferries were all diverted to assist in the search.

By mid-afternoon, four people had been located and recovered from the water. They were transported to the Sea Island Coast...