RGinCanada
Jun 30, 2005, 03:41 PM
From CBC News June 30/2005:
Divers seek victims after B.C. ferry crash
Last Updated Thu, 30 Jun 2005 15:16:04 EDT
Divers are searching for victims in the water around a grounded B.C. ferry, after it missed the West Vancouver terminal and plowed into at least 15 pleasure craft.
A Canadian Coast Guard spokesman said emergency crews don't yet know whether anyone was in the boats when the Queen of Oak Bay ferry lost power as it approached the Horseshoe Bay terminal. It crashed into a nearby marina at about 10:10 a.m. on Thursday.
Some boats may be submerged beneath the BC Ferries vessel, but the divers were unable to enter the water until about 11:40 a.m. because the ferry took out a power line as it smashed through.
"We don't know whether there was anybody sleeping inside the vessels at this point," Terry Tebb, regional director for the Canadian Coast Guard, told CBC Newsworld.
A BC Ferries spokeswoman, Deborah Marshall, said no injuries had been reported. She said the Queen of Oak Bay lost power as it approached the terminal.
Witnesses said the ferry missed the terminal and was blowing its horn as it crashed into the marina, crushing 15 or 20 vessels as it plowed through.
"It kept coming and coming," Gus Tsogaf, who owns the Bay Moorings Restaurant, told CBC News. "A low speed, but it just kept coming. It just couldn't stop." He said he could see a bunch of boats underneath the ferry.
"I've never seen anything like this, never, in the 27 years that I've been here," Tsogaf said.
"It definitely looked like it was going faster than normal when it came into the dock," said Craig Rockwell, who works at the Boathouse Restaurant.
The accident was expected to create havoc on the BC Ferries schedule for the long weekend.
As many as 1,000 passengers remained on board the grounded vessel by early afternoon on Thursday.
Some of the passengers, who could be reached by cellphone, said they were warned to brace themselves shortly before the impact.
Sean Atleo said all of the passengers seemed OK, but said he wasn't sure everyone at the dock escaped uninjured.
"It appears there may have been some people out there on the boats," he said.
Other witnesses said they saw people running from the marina's docks as the ferry approached.
The ferry left Nanaimo for Horseshoe Bay at 8:30 a.m. for the 52-kilometre journey.
The Queen of Oak Bay, which was first launched in 1981, can hold as many as 362 cars. It recently underwent $35 million in upgrades and had only recently returned to service.
BC Ferries was transformed from a provincially operated Crown corporation into an independent, commercial organization in April of 2003. It is now operated at arm's length from the government of British Columbia.
It's unclear whether the province will be ultimately liable for damages arising from this accident
http://www.cbc.ca/story/canada/national/2005/06/30/ferry-050630.html
Lets hope everyone got out of the way in time! -RG
Divers seek victims after B.C. ferry crash
Last Updated Thu, 30 Jun 2005 15:16:04 EDT
Divers are searching for victims in the water around a grounded B.C. ferry, after it missed the West Vancouver terminal and plowed into at least 15 pleasure craft.
A Canadian Coast Guard spokesman said emergency crews don't yet know whether anyone was in the boats when the Queen of Oak Bay ferry lost power as it approached the Horseshoe Bay terminal. It crashed into a nearby marina at about 10:10 a.m. on Thursday.
Some boats may be submerged beneath the BC Ferries vessel, but the divers were unable to enter the water until about 11:40 a.m. because the ferry took out a power line as it smashed through.
"We don't know whether there was anybody sleeping inside the vessels at this point," Terry Tebb, regional director for the Canadian Coast Guard, told CBC Newsworld.
A BC Ferries spokeswoman, Deborah Marshall, said no injuries had been reported. She said the Queen of Oak Bay lost power as it approached the terminal.
Witnesses said the ferry missed the terminal and was blowing its horn as it crashed into the marina, crushing 15 or 20 vessels as it plowed through.
"It kept coming and coming," Gus Tsogaf, who owns the Bay Moorings Restaurant, told CBC News. "A low speed, but it just kept coming. It just couldn't stop." He said he could see a bunch of boats underneath the ferry.
"I've never seen anything like this, never, in the 27 years that I've been here," Tsogaf said.
"It definitely looked like it was going faster than normal when it came into the dock," said Craig Rockwell, who works at the Boathouse Restaurant.
The accident was expected to create havoc on the BC Ferries schedule for the long weekend.
As many as 1,000 passengers remained on board the grounded vessel by early afternoon on Thursday.
Some of the passengers, who could be reached by cellphone, said they were warned to brace themselves shortly before the impact.
Sean Atleo said all of the passengers seemed OK, but said he wasn't sure everyone at the dock escaped uninjured.
"It appears there may have been some people out there on the boats," he said.
Other witnesses said they saw people running from the marina's docks as the ferry approached.
The ferry left Nanaimo for Horseshoe Bay at 8:30 a.m. for the 52-kilometre journey.
The Queen of Oak Bay, which was first launched in 1981, can hold as many as 362 cars. It recently underwent $35 million in upgrades and had only recently returned to service.
BC Ferries was transformed from a provincially operated Crown corporation into an independent, commercial organization in April of 2003. It is now operated at arm's length from the government of British Columbia.
It's unclear whether the province will be ultimately liable for damages arising from this accident
http://www.cbc.ca/story/canada/national/2005/06/30/ferry-050630.html
Lets hope everyone got out of the way in time! -RG