Rescue crews from B.C. Ferries, the Coast Guard and Vancouver Police marine unit spent a frantic hour combing the waters off Cowan Point on Bowen Island Monday afternoon after a man jumped overboard from the Queen of Oak Bay ferry.
The ferry had left Horseshoe Bay heading to Nanaimo, and had been underway for about 15 minutes when several passengers saw a man jump from one of the vehicle decks as the ship passed the south end of Bowen Island.
The crew immediately stopped the ferry and called in the emergency to the Joint Rescue Co-ordination Centre.
The crew from the Queen of Oak Bay launched a rescue boat from the ferry, while another rescue boat was also launched from the nearby Queen of Cowichan.
The Coast Guard’s hovercraft and fast response boat from Sea Island and both North and West Vancouver auxiliary Coast Guard units also raced to the scene, along with tugboats and other boats in the area.
Cindy Burggraeve was a passenger on the Queen of Cowichan when the drama unfolded. “I saw everybody running towards the lifeboat,” she said. Burggraeve said everyone on board was told to watch the water for signs of the man.
Crew members in a rescue boat from the Queen of Oak Bay were the first to spot the man, sometime around 5 p.m. and pull him out of the water. He was unconscious at the time.
The man was quickly transferred to the Vancouver police boat, along with two Coast Guard rescue specialists, who continued CPR as the man was rushed to shore, transferred to an ambulance in Horseshoe Bay and rushed to Lions Gate Hospital.
B.C. Ferries cancelled the remaining sailings of the Queen of Oak Bay Monday evening, including two from Nanaimo and one from Horseshoe Bay.
“Adrenaline runs high and there was some trauma felt (by crew members),” said Darin Guenette, public affairs manager for B.C. Ferries.
The victim — a 45 year-old man from Vancouver — was later transferred to St. Paul’s Hospital in Vancouver where he died Tuesday morning.
A spokesman for the Nanaimo RCMP said the incident is considered a suicide and has been turned over to the coroner’s office.
