British Columbia ferry sinks

HARTLEY BAY, B.C. – In fishing boats and speedboats, the people of Hartley Bay, a small Indian village, headed into the stormy waters off British Columbia’s north coast to help rescue 101 passengers and crew after a ferry hit a rock and sank early Wednesday.

Canadian coast guard spokesman Dan Bate said the southbound Queen of the North hit the rock at 12:26 a.m. off Gil Island in Wright Sound, about 61/2 miles south of Hartely Bay. The area is about 80 miles south of Prince Rupert.

Associated Press

Lifeboats used by passengers from the sunken ferry Queen of the North sit on the deck of the Canadian coast guard icebreaker Sir Wilfred Laurier as it leaves Hartley Bay, B.C., on Wednesday.

Passengers and crew aboard the 409-foot ship began boarding life rafts less than half an hour later, then were taken aboard small boats and the Canadian icebreaker Sir Wilfred Laurier, with reports of only minor injuries, Bate said.

By late Wednesday night, 99 passengers and crew were accounted for, but B.C. Ferries was unable to locate two passengers, a man and woman. George Foisy of Terrace, B.C., told Canadian Press his brother Gerald Foisy and Gerald’s common-law wife Shirley Rosette remained unaccounted for.

Ferry officials insist everyone got off the ship and speculate the couple returned to Prince Rupert from Hartley Bay on their own, although the village is inaccessible except by air and boat. Ferry officials handed the matter over to police as a missing persons case.

Some of the injured passengers were flown by helicopter from Hartley Bay to Prince Rupert, said Hartley Bay resident Wally Bolton. He said he was aware of one person with a head injury.

Capt. Trafford Taylor, B.C. Ferries executive vice president of operations, said the Queen of the North was out of the shipping channel when it hit the rock.

“It was obviously off course,” he said.

The ferry: The Queen of the North was built in Germany in 1969. It can hold 115 cars and 700 passengers. B.C. Ferries bought the ship in 1974 for $13.8 million, retired it in 1976 and brought it back into service in 1980, when more than $10 million was spent on a retrofit.

The route: The scenic 280-mile route between Prince Rupert and Port Hardy along British Columbia’s Inside Passage.

Accident site: About 80 miles south of Prince Rupert. The ferry sank after hitting a rock near Gil Island.

Rescuers: Nearly all of the town of Hartley Bay’s 200 residents helped out, either in small motorboats, on a fishing boat or on the shore, as well as the crew of a Canadian icebreaker.

History: The ferry was originally called Stena Danica and sailed between Stockholm and Copenhagen.

The Canadian federal Transportation Safety Board was investigating the sinking.

There were 45 mph winds and choppy seas at the time of the rescue.

The ferry, part of the province’s extensive marine transport service, left Prince Rupert at 8 p.m. for the overnight run to Port Hardy at the northern tip of Vancouver Island.

Passenger Jill Lawrence told the Canadian Press she at first thought she was in the middle of a drill.

“And then when they said to go to the other side of the boat, we knew it was real,” Lawrence said. “But it was very calm. Everyone seemed very calm, and the crew did an awesome job to get us off.”

Passenger Lawrence Papineau said, “We heard a crashing noise and the ship went to one side. Then it was a louder crash … and then everybody realized what was happening and the sirens went off.

“Within an hour, the ship actually tilted to the side, leveled out and it sunk down to the sixth deck, came back up like the Titanic, dipped and then it went under.”

Nicole Robinson, a receptionist at the cultural center in Hartley Bay, a Gitk’a’ata Tribe town of about 200 residents, said many of those who arrived from the ferry were “stunned,” and a few were treated for slight injuries.

“We’ve just had a few patients come and go, minor injuries.” she said. “The community all got together with blankets. Everybody’s pretty cold, but they’re all down at a community hall.”

Some of the crew members told her they were asleep when the vessel hit the rock.

Ernie Westgarth, housing coordinator for Hartley Bay, said everybody in the village took part in the rescue, “from small children to the elders, including some elders that couldn’t even walk.”

Betsy Reece, whose husband took his speedboat out to rescue people, said they heard an alert on their marine radio around midnight. Twelve hours later, Reece said she had only heard from her husband once, when he came back to shore to get more socks because he had given his away.

After bringing people ashore, Bruce Reece was helping pull debris out of the water with his 19-foot cabin cruiser.

“There’s talk about oil showing up in the water now, so I imagine they’re frantic now,” said Karen Clifton, manager of the Hartley Bay cultural center.

She said the village sent out a fishing boat and five pleasure craft to rescue people and aid in the cleanup work.

“They’re only doing what they always do in an emergency,” Clifton said.

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