Divers seek victims after B.C. ferry crash

[enigmatic]

http://www.cbc.ca/story/canada/national/2005/06/30/ferry-050630.html

"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.


Queen of Oak Bay at Horseshoe Bay, 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."

[Minstrel Boy]

1. seems to be no injuries

WEST VANCOUVER, B.C. (CP) - A B.C. ferry lost power, smashed into a number of boats and ran aground at a marina while docking at Horseshoe Bay in West Vancouver.

No one was injured, B.C. Ferries spokeswoman Deborah Marshall said Thursday.

Witnesses said the Queen of Oak Bay missed the terminal berth and was blowing its horn as it crashed into Sewell's Marina.

...

"I saw at least two people literally running for their lives from the oncoming ship. They obviously heard the horn and I could see the look of shock on the man's face as he looked up, saw what was coming."
http://canadaeast.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050630/CPN/38573027

The Queen of Oak Bay is a big ferry:

[0rganism]

2. Wow, this is a sad day for what is usually reliable transportation

Perhaps no one will turn up dead or injured, but this could be a serious blow to tourism for coastal BC and Washington.

Riding the BC/Washington state ferries is almost a tourist attraction in itself, with routes all through some of the prettiest scenery on earth. A lot of folks use these for commuting, too. I hope this accident gets thoroughly root-caused and fixed on the rest of the ferry fleet, pronto.

[flamingyouth]

3. Scary.

I'm amazed that no one was seriously injured or killed. I was on a Washington State ferry once that rammed the dock and that's an experience I'd never like to live through again. This just sounds terrifying. :scared:

[cliss]

4. Yikes. We travel between the US and Vancouver island

every now and then. Just jump on the ferry, never give it a second thought.

...until now.

[Pachamama]

6. Double Yikes! I've actually docked in that Marina before when sailing

from San Juan Islands to Vancouver...there are often visitors and liveaboards there...

I sure hope no one is hurt or dead....

[Megahurtz]

5. Wow. That's wild.

B.C. Ferries seemed to be kept in pretty good shape by the Crown when I was in Canada,
but that was before 2000.

I never knew that they turned over the control of the ferries to a private company in 2003!

Anyway, that Queen of Oak Bay is one huge vessel. I wouldn't want it coming toward me!:wow: