'Strong winds and turbulent waters' likely factors in Vancouver boat capsizing, killing 1: police

A 61-year-old man has died after a vessel capsized near Vancouver's Wreck Beach on Monday afternoon, according to emergency responders.

The Joint Rescue Coordination Centre (JRCC) in Victoria said they received a distress call around 1:30 p.m. PT near the beach, which is close to the University of British Columbia's Point Grey campus.

Vancouver Fire Rescue Services told CBC News that they responded to the capsizing near Trail 3, at the 6100-block of Northwest Marine Drive, and found a man who was floating on the water after his vessel overturned. In a Tuesday statement, the vessel was identified as a tugboat.

"Our crews went down to the water and the Coast Guard had already brought an ... unidentified male up on shore," Assistant Fire Chief Keith Stewart said.

"Crews did CPR the best they could. Unfortunately, the unidentified male had succumbed to his injuries."

Firefighters, along with JRCC first responders, scoured the shoreline with boats and helicopters for hours afterwards to see if anyone else was missing.

The search was called off at around 6:20 p.m. when it was confirmed there was only one person on board the vessel when it capsized, the JRCC said.

"The [Canadian Coast Guard] dive team on board the hovercraft Siyay was able to locate the vessel and clear it," said JRCC spokesperson Lt. Michelle Scott, who added that RCMP are now leading the investigation.

The capsizing comes as a high wind warning was issued for the Howe Sound region north of Vancouver on Monday. An Arctic air mass is bringing cooler weather and high winds to the South Coast and Vancouver Island at the start of the week.

In a statement on Tuesday, University RCMP said that while the exact cause of the capsizing is not known, "exceptionally strong winds and turbulent waters" are likely to be factors.

"Tragically, despite an excellent coordinated effort by multiple responding agencies, the lone [boat] operator could not be revived," said Staff Sgt. Kris Clark.

Clark added that, along with the RCMP, the death will also be investigated by the Transportation Safety Board of Canada and WorkSafeBC.