Six feared dead after 'bizarre' sinking of charter boat off Vancouver coast

Canadian search teams have launched a recovery effort for six people believed to have drowned in a "bizarre" sinking of a fishing charter off the coast of Vancouver. The incident occurred near the Georgia Strait, where fresh river water meets the ocean, creating hazardous survival conditions.

The boat was carrying 10 people when it suddenly took on water and sank on Sunday afternoon. None of the passengers were wearing lifejackets, and no distress call was issued from the charter. By the time rescue teams arrived, the vessel had already disappeared. Given the speed of the sinking and the lack of a mayday, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) major crimes unit has launched an investigation to determine if there was a collision or any criminal behavior.

Two survivors, a 33-year-old man and a 28-year-old woman, are in critical condition. Another 26-year-old man and a 33-year-old woman have been discharged from hospital.

A couple, Dorothy Stauffer and Brian Angus, who were sailing nearby on their yacht, made a critical mayday call and rescued three people by pulling them onboard. Stauffer, who received emergency training as a flight attendant, told CBC News that the survivors appeared weak and hypothermic. One had no clothes on from the waist up. Some took nearly 20 minutes to swim to the dinghy.

Angus, a retired pilot, said they initially saw five people in the water but lost sight of one who disappeared beneath the surface. "The question you have in any incident as a pilot … or a boater is: could we have done anything different? And we don't believe we could have," he said.

Maj. Gregory Clarke of the Joint Rescue Coordination Centre noted that people can survive up to 10 hours with flotation devices, but the cold waters and strong currents in the area significantly reduce survival chances.