RCMP in Nova Scotia’s Annapolis Valley are investigating a fatal boating accident that claimed the lives of two men.
Police say they were called at around 5:30 p.m. Monday about a 14-foot vessel, with four people on board, that sank on the Annapolis River.
Chief Andrew Cranston of the Annapolis Royal Volunteer Fire Department told Global News it was a “long, long duration call.”
“Something catastrophic happened to the boat in the middle of the river,” he said Tuesday.
“We were going from 5:30 last night until approximately 12:30, 12:45 this morning. We did locate all four personnel. Two were — all I can say — were on the shore (when we arrived).”
Along with the fire department, RCMP, ground search and rescue and the Joint Rescue Coordination Centre all responded.
“When RCMP officers arrived at the scene, it was learned that two people, a 46-year-old Granville Centre man and a 27-year-old Weymouth man, had safely made it ashore,” RCMP said in a Tuesday release.
At that point, three fire services search boats, a CH-149 Cormorant helicopter, and a C-130 Hercules fixed wing aircraft were all deployed to look for the two remaining men who were missing.
“A short time later a third person, 49-year-old Granville Centre man, was located by a search boat and transported to hospital by EHS where he was pronounced deceased,” RCMP said.
The search continued for the fourth person, and at around midnight, the remains of a 26-year-old Granville Centre man were found and recovered.
“At this time, alcohol is believed to have been a factor in the incident. The investigation remains ongoing,” RCMP noted in their release.
— with a file from Global News’ Ella MacDonald