Sea to Sky RCMP say a third body has been recovered after a boat overturned in the Squamish River near Squamish during days of heavy rain and flooding.
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Sea to Sky RCMP say crews recovered a third body on Friday afternoon after a boat overturned in the swollen Squamish River north of Vancouver, following days of heavy rain and regional flooding.
RCMP say police received the call around 1:50 p.m. on Thursday about the incident near the 15,900 block of Squamish Valley Road, but responding took time because of a road washout and the condition of the river. Insp. Robert Dykstra, the officer in charge of Sea to Sky RCMP, said police initially reported two deaths and that a third person was missing, with that missing person later recovered.
Dykstra said the RCMP originally understood about eight people were aboard the boat on Thursday and that police were not aware of anyone unaccounted for. He did not know what led the boat to overturn, saying, "I do believe that they ran into something. That's all I really know at this point." He also said he believed the boat was local to Squamish and that he was not aware of any injuries among survivors.
Emergency Health Services said it received a call at 2:48 p.m. on Thursday about the boat incident, and that no one was taken to hospital.
The boat incident unfolded after southwest B.C. saw multiple storms, with some areas receiving more than 300 millimetres of rain this week. In the Sea to Sky corridor, including Squamish and Pemberton, the flooding impacts were among the worst, and several evacuation measures remained in effect Friday, including an evacuation alert for the entire village of Pemberton and other orders tied to the Lil'wat First Nation and Zeballos. RCMP and BC officials also said conditions and warnings had eased in some areas, with residents being advised to stay out of flood zones and not to drive across flooded roads.
RCMP said all of the bodies recovered were transported, with three full white body bags unloaded from a helicopter at the Squamish airport around 1:30 p.m. on Friday. Dykstra described the situation as "tragic." Local and provincial political officials also said they were thinking of the victims’ families, with West Vancouver-Sea to Sky legislator Jeremy Valeriote calling the Sea to Sky region "strong and resilient" while saying people should not have to navigate the recovery alone.
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