Just saw this on the news. I can't believe it!
http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Canada/2006/03/22/1499867-cp.html
Ferry sinks off B.C. coast
VANCOUVER (CP) - Rescuers plucked dozens of people from lifeboats off B.C.'s Queen Charlotte Islands early Wednesday after a large ferry hit a rock and sank in choppy seas and high winds.
All of the 101 people aboard were rescued and accounted for, B.C. Ferries said in a statement released several hours after the incident.
Most of them were taken to a community centre in Hartley Bay where workers there had given them blankets and coffee; others were aboard a Coast Guard vessel. None were immediately available to speak to the media.
The Queen of the North was sailing south to Port Hardy from Prince Rupert, a 450-kilometre trip along what's known as B.C.'s Inside Passage, a series of islands just off the north coast of the province.
The 125-metre-long vessel was reported to be completely submerged about 135 kilometres from Prince Rupert after hitting the rock, listing to one side and then sinking.
Nicole Robinson, a receptionist at the nursing station in Hartley Bay, said she talked to several members of the ferry's crew who were sleeping when the ship began to take on water.
"They heard a loud bang like it grinded a bit and they said the cabin started filling with water," she said.
Some people were hurt, but not seriously, said Robinson. Many were "stunned."
"We've just had a few patients come and go, minor injuries. The community all got together with blankets; everybody's pretty cold but they're all down at a community hall," Robinson said.
Rescuers were on the scene soon after the 12:43 a.m. incident, said Capt. Leah Byrne of the Search and Rescue Centre in Victoria.
"The joint rescue co-ordination centre dispatched a large number of assets to the scene, including a cormorant helicopter and buffalo aircraft," she said.
Unconfirmed reports said fishing trawlers responded to the initial call and helped in the rescue. Seas were reported to be choppy and winds were blowing at about 75 kilometres per hour.
"From what we hear, it took about an hour for the ship to sink so most of the people did manage to get onto lifeboats," Byrne said. "There was an orderly evacuation of personnel from the vessel, including passengers and crew."
According to the B.C. Ferries website, the ship was built in Germany in 1969 and refitted in 2001. It can hold up to 700 people and 115 cars.
The book The Ships of British Columbia says B.C. Ferries bought the boat for $13.8 million in 1974 and named it the Queen of Surrey. The ferry was retired in 1976 until it was decided to put her on the Queen Charlotte run in 1980. More than $10 million was spent to prepare her for her days as The Queen of the North.
http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Canada/2006/03/22/1499867-cp.html
Ferry sinks off B.C. coast
VANCOUVER (CP) - Rescuers plucked dozens of people from lifeboats off B.C.'s Queen Charlotte Islands early Wednesday after a large ferry hit a rock and sank in choppy seas and high winds.
All of the 101 people aboard were rescued and accounted for, B.C. Ferries said in a statement released several hours after the incident.
Most of them were taken to a community centre in Hartley Bay where workers there had given them blankets and coffee; others were aboard a Coast Guard vessel. None were immediately available to speak to the media.
The Queen of the North was sailing south to Port Hardy from Prince Rupert, a 450-kilometre trip along what's known as B.C.'s Inside Passage, a series of islands just off the north coast of the province.
The 125-metre-long vessel was reported to be completely submerged about 135 kilometres from Prince Rupert after hitting the rock, listing to one side and then sinking.
Nicole Robinson, a receptionist at the nursing station in Hartley Bay, said she talked to several members of the ferry's crew who were sleeping when the ship began to take on water.
"They heard a loud bang like it grinded a bit and they said the cabin started filling with water," she said.
Some people were hurt, but not seriously, said Robinson. Many were "stunned."
"We've just had a few patients come and go, minor injuries. The community all got together with blankets; everybody's pretty cold but they're all down at a community hall," Robinson said.
Rescuers were on the scene soon after the 12:43 a.m. incident, said Capt. Leah Byrne of the Search and Rescue Centre in Victoria.
"The joint rescue co-ordination centre dispatched a large number of assets to the scene, including a cormorant helicopter and buffalo aircraft," she said.
Unconfirmed reports said fishing trawlers responded to the initial call and helped in the rescue. Seas were reported to be choppy and winds were blowing at about 75 kilometres per hour.
"From what we hear, it took about an hour for the ship to sink so most of the people did manage to get onto lifeboats," Byrne said. "There was an orderly evacuation of personnel from the vessel, including passengers and crew."
According to the B.C. Ferries website, the ship was built in Germany in 1969 and refitted in 2001. It can hold up to 700 people and 115 cars.
The book The Ships of British Columbia says B.C. Ferries bought the boat for $13.8 million in 1974 and named it the Queen of Surrey. The ferry was retired in 1976 until it was decided to put her on the Queen Charlotte run in 1980. More than $10 million was spent to prepare her for her days as The Queen of the North.
