Close X
Tuesday, October 22, 2024
ADVT 
National

One dead, another missing after Vancouver Island road washout

Darpan News Desk IANS, 21 Oct, 2024 01:13 PM
  • One dead, another missing after Vancouver Island road washout
 

Police on the west coast of Vancouver Island say one person has been found dead and another is missing after a road washout near Bamfield. 

RCMP in Port Alberni say a truck was found fully submerged in the Sarita River Saturday night after a "washout," and the body of the driver was later found nearby.

The Mounties say a second vehicle has also been found in the river, and it's believed the other missing person is inside, while search and rescue personnel are waiting for an opportunity to conduct a swift-water recovery.

They say one of the drivers was travelling from Bamfield to Victoria and the other was driving from Port Alberni to Bamfield, and both were reported missing Saturday evening when they failed to arrive at their destinations.

The death comes after police in Coquitlam say a 57-year-old woman was found dead Sunday when her home was swept away in a mudslide caused by record-setting rain that drenched British Columbia's south coast over the weekend.

Coquitlam RCMP say officers responded to the slide near Pinecone Burke Provincial Park midday on Saturday, and found one home had been "swept away."

On Vancouver Island, RCMP say they used cellphone towers to locate one of the missing drivers within a three kilometre radius of the 58-kilometre mark of Bamfield Road.

A helicopter was deployed, along with Alberni Valley Search and Rescue, but it was a family member of the missing driver who spotted the truck just before 9 p.m.

RCMP say the darkness and fast-flowing water prevented emergency personnel from confirming whether the vehicle was occupied, and the body of the missing driver was later found a short distance away.

Environment Canada figures show Coquitlam was among the hardest hit by the rain over the weekend, receiving 256 millimetres between Friday and Sunday night.

RCMP say they have notified the family of the mudslide victim, but would not provide more details about the slide and its "deeply tragic" outcome.

MORE National ARTICLES

B.C. NDP to unveil election platform, Conservatives promise to end insurance monopoly

B.C. NDP to unveil election platform, Conservatives promise to end insurance monopoly
British Columbia NDP Leader David Eby is set to roll out the party's complete election platform as Conservative Leader John Rustad says his government would end the provincial insurance corporation's monopoly on basic vehicle insurance. Eby has a news conference scheduled in Surrey as the province nears the midway point of the election campaign ahead of the Oct. 19 election day.

B.C. NDP to unveil election platform, Conservatives promise to end insurance monopoly

Expected La Nina weather pattern could ease ongoing drought conditions in B.C.

Expected La Nina weather pattern could ease ongoing drought conditions in B.C.
British Columbia's nagging drought could be eased by an incoming weather pattern that may bring a colder and wetter than normal winter, says Sean Fleming, an adjunct UBC professor of atmospheric sciences. The prolonged drought has caused wildfires to burn year-round, forced some communities to ration water supplies and dangerously lowered water levels in rivers, impacting salmon runs. 

Expected La Nina weather pattern could ease ongoing drought conditions in B.C.

B.C. party leaders tussle over affordability in radio debate before Oct. 19 vote

B.C. party leaders tussle over affordability in radio debate before Oct. 19 vote
British Columbia's party leaders have jousted over affordability in their first and only radio debate of the province's election campaign. The debate brings together NDP Leader David Eby, B.C. Conservative Leader John Rustad and Green Party Leader Sonia Furstenau for the first time on the campaign trail ahead of the Oct. 19 vote.

B.C. party leaders tussle over affordability in radio debate before Oct. 19 vote

B.C. father and daughter accuse Canadian Tire, security company of racism, profiling

B.C. father and daughter accuse Canadian Tire, security company of racism, profiling
An Indigenous father and daughter in British Columbia are accusing Canadian Tire and its third party security company of racial profiling and racism after they say he was singled out at a store in Coquitlam and an employee responded with a racist comment. The complaint alleges that on January 17, 2020, the pair purchased new tires for installation and shopped in-store while they waited. 

B.C. father and daughter accuse Canadian Tire, security company of racism, profiling

Kayaker dies after capsizing on river in central Alberta: RCMP

Kayaker dies after capsizing on river in central Alberta: RCMP
An Alberta man is dead after his kayak capsized on the Athabasca River. RCMP say they responded to a call on Saturday about a man in medical distress near the town of Hinton, Alta. Hinton is about 290 kilometres west of Edmonton.

Kayaker dies after capsizing on river in central Alberta: RCMP

Man charged in Vancouver Island homicide

Man charged in Vancouver Island homicide
Mounties on Vancouver Island say a man has been charged with murder after another man was found dead over the weekend. R-C-M-P say officers from the Lake Cowichan detachment were called to a home at the Ditidaht First Nation Saturday morning. 

Man charged in Vancouver Island homicide