A Squamish Valley boat incident in swollen waters north of Vancouver left three people dead, with police saying no one is unaccounted for.
The Story
A British Columbia legislator says he is “devastated” after search and rescue crews recovered the bodies of three people who died when a boat overturned in the swollen Squamish River in the Squamish Valley north of Vancouver, following days of heavy rain and flooding in the region.
Sea to Sky RCMP Insp. Robert Dykstra, the officer in charge, said police initially responded to the incident after getting a call at around 1:50 p.m. on Thursday, but it took time for responders to gain access because of a road washout and the “raging river.”
Dykstra said there were originally about eight people aboard the boat on Thursday, and police later stated that no one is unaccounted for. He also said police were not sure why the boat was on the water or what caused it to overturn.
Speaking to reporters on Friday, Dykstra said, “I do believe that they ran into something. That's all I really know at this point.” He added that he believed the boat was local to Squamish and that he was not aware of any injuries among survivors.
Police initially said two people had died and a third was missing. By Friday afternoon, a third body had been recovered, and three full 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.
BC Emergency Health Services said it received a call at 2:48 p.m. on Thursday about the incident near the 15,900 block of Squamish Valley Road, and that no one was taken to hospital.
At the Squamish airport earlier Friday, a white pickup truck pulled an RCMP boat into the parking lot as members of the local search and rescue team gathered inside their headquarters before deploying to recover the third victim.
The incident occurred amid a severe weather system that left southwest British Columbia drenched after days of storms, bringing 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.
In the wake of the flooding, all rainfall warnings that had blanketed the region over the past week were lifted by Friday, though the effects of the deluge were still being felt. The Squamish Nation also voiced concern at an unrelated event Friday, with chairperson Wilson Williams saying he was “calling upon Mother Nature” to protect those dealing with the hazardous weather.
Evacuation measures in the area remained in place: the entire village of Pemberton, about 90 kilometres north of Squamish, was still under an evacuation alert. Evacuation orders imposed by the nearby Lil’wat First Nation and in Zeballos on Vancouver Island also remained in effect, although an order for parts of Pemberton was downgraded to alert status.
A shelter-in-place advisory for some residents about 16 kilometres north of Squamish that had been issued Thursday was lifted Friday, but residents were still advised not to drive across flooded roads and were told by RCMP to stay out of flood zones.
As conditions eased, the province’s River Forecast Centre downgraded warnings for the south coast to a lower-level high streamflow advisory and ended flood watches for Fraser Valley north, the central coast and east Vancouver Island. Coastal communities, however, were warned to prepare for a renewed flooding risk from a storm surge.
Environment Canada said the storm surge could raise sea levels and hit low-lying and exposed coastal areas of Metro Vancouver, southeast Vancouver Island and the southern Gulf Islands. Elevated water levels surpassing tidal predictions were described as being driven by high winds and “enhanced wave activity,” with that risk expected to last into the weekend.
Jeremy Valeriote, the Green legislator for West Vancouver-Sea to Sky who was re-elected last month, said he was “devastated” and his thoughts were with victims’ families. He described the Sea to Sky region as “a strong and resilient community,” but said, “But no one should have to navigate this alone,” adding that he and his team would support people as the community begins recovering.
At an unrelated Friday event, B.C. premier-designate Lorne Doerkson called the situation “very serious” and said he intended to visit the area, adding that “my heart goes out to those families that are dealing with the losses” and the communities involved.
← More stories