Lights on the life-jackets of four people who had to abandon their boat in Queen Charlotte Strait off Port Hardy Wednesday night helped lead rescuers to their location in the frigid ocean.
They had been in the water for 45 minutes.
“It was a really large area being searched, so it was actually the lights on the life-jackets that were spotted when the people were in the water,” said Canadian Coast Guard spokesperson Kiri Westnedge. “It probably saved their lives.”
The 25-foot craft, an unspecified work boat, had sunk by the time rescuers arrived at the scene about 13 kilometres from Port Hardy, Westnedge said.
She said the boat sank after it took on water when its windows were smashed by waves from two-metre seas.
Other safety equipment on board included a VHF radio and flares, which helped MV Coastal Server — another vessel that happened to be travelling in the area — narrow down where the distressed boat was before the coast guard took over.
A coast guard crew found the four people huddled together in the water and pulled them out, then assisted with a difficult transfer to a larger vessel.
“Due to the weather and sea conditions this was a very challenging transfer between vessels, but we needed to get the four people into a warm, dry environment,” the coast guard said in a statement.
The victims were treated for hypothermia while they were being taken to shore, where ambulance paramedics were waiting to transfer them to hospital. No information about their condition was available.
Three ambulances went to the coast guard dock in Port Hardy after being contacted by the coast guard about 6:40 p.m., said paramedic spokesperson Brian Twaites.
Victoria’s Joint Rescue Co-ordination Centre initially received the call about a vessel in distress about 6:15 p.m.
Coast guard ships Florencia Bay and Sir William Grenfell then responded, along with fast-rescue crafts Port Hardy 1 and Sir William Grenfell, and a Cormorant helicopter from 442 Squadron in Comox.
The coast guard praised the preparedness of the crew on the rescued boat, saying without the safety equipment it carried, “this incident might have had a much different ending.”
