Three drown in clam-fishing boat capsize off Savary Island
A fishing vessel carrying five men capsized Thursday near Savary Island. Two survivors made it to shore; three did not.
Three men are dead after a clam-fishing boat capsized off Savary Island on Thursday afternoon, the Powell River RCMP said Friday.
The vessel had been carrying five men when it went down. Two of them managed to reach shore, but the other three — initially reported missing — did not survive.
The incident marks one of the deadliest maritime accidents in the region in recent memory. The waters off Savary Island, while popular with commercial and recreational fishers, can turn rough and unpredictable without warning, and the capsizing underscores the inherent risks of small-boat operations in coastal B.C.
No additional details about the victims' identities or the circumstances of the capsize were released by the RCMP as of Friday evening. The investigation remains ongoing.
For families and the broader fishing community, the loss is a grim reminder of how quickly conditions can change on the water.