Three dead after Squamish Valley boating incident during flooding

Three people died after a boat overturned in the swollen Squamish River on Thursday, following days of heavy rain and flooding in southwest British Columbia, The Globe and Mail reported.

Insp. Robert Dykstra, officer in charge of the Sea to Sky RCMP, said there were originally about eight people aboard the boat and that police said no one is unaccounted for. He said he believed the boat was local to Squamish and was not aware of any injuries among the survivors.

"I do believe that they ran into something. That’s all I really know at this point," Dykstra told reporters on Friday.

Police received the call at around 1:50 p.m. on Thursday, but responders took time to reach the area because of a road washout and the state of the raging river. A third body was recovered by Friday afternoon. Three full white body bags were unloaded from a helicopter at the Squamish airport around 1:30 p.m.

Police have not released details about the victims or survivors. Dykstra called the situation "tragic."

The Western Standard reported that three people are confirmed dead and another remains missing following the incident, and that Squamish RCMP confirmed earlier two deaths with one person remaining missing. The outlet said all other individuals involved were accounted for.

Southwest British Columbia was drenched by storms that brought more than 300 millimetres of rain to some areas this week. The Sea to Sky corridor, including Squamish and Pemberton, was among the areas hardest hit.

The entire village of Pemberton, about 90 kilometres north of Squamish, remained under an evacuation alert. Evacuation orders imposed by the nearby Lil’wat First Nation, and in Zeballos on Vancouver Island, also remained in place, although an order for parts of Pemberton was downgraded to alert status. A shelter-in-place advisory issued Thursday for some residents about 16 kilometres north of Squamish was lifted Friday.

BC Emergency Health Services said it received a call at 2:48 p.m. on Thursday about the boat incident near the 15900 block of Squamish Valley Road. No one was taken to hospital.

Jeremy Valeriote, who represents West Vancouver-Sea to Sky, said he was "devastated" and his thoughts were with the victims’ families. He said the Sea to Sky region "is a strong and resilient community."

B.C. premier-designate Lorne Doerkson called the situation "very serious" and said he intended to visit the area. Wilson Williams, chairperson of the Squamish Nation, said he was "calling upon Mother Nature" to protect those in areas dealing with the hazardous weather.

Environment Canada warned of a storm surge that could raise sea levels in low-lying and exposed coastal areas of Metro Vancouver, southeast Vancouver Island and the southern Gulf Islands, with elevated water levels driven by high winds and "enhanced wave activity."

Sources

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