Two people are dead and another one rescued following an incident involving a tugboat off B.C.’s northwest coast in the early morning hours of Feb. 11.
BC Coroners service confirmed they are investigating two deaths related to a tugboat incident near Kitimat.
A tugboat owned by Wainwright Marine Services in Prince Rupert, was towing a barge in the Gardner Canal 35 nautical miles south of Kitimat where it is believed to have capsized.
Conditions at the time were reported as very windy.
The Joint Rescue Coordination Centre in Victoria confirmed they were contacted early this morning to assist the Coast Guard and RCMP with the search for a missing tug, dispatching a CC-115 Buffalo fixed wing aircraft and a CH-149 Cormorant helicopter from the Canadian Forces Base Comox. Bad weather hampered their search efforts.
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The search and rescue operation was called off as of 2 p.m. and the case was transferred to the Kitimat RCMP and B.C. Emergency Health Services.
Black Press Media has reached out to both agencies.
The barge was carrying cargo in connection with the Rio Tinto project to drill a second tunnel at its Kemano hydro-electric generating facility.
Water from the Nechako Reservoir flows through a first tunnel down to hydro-electric generators at Kemano to produce electricity which is then transmitted through power lines to Rio Tinto’s aluminum smelter at Kitimat.
The second tunnel is meant to provide a backup if required to ensure electricity can be generated using water from the Nechako Reservoir.
More to come.
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