Police have recovered the body of a man involved in a boating accident in Mission, B.C.
Two men were out in a small, flat-bottom, aluminum boat around 6:30 p.m. PT on Friday in Nicomen Slough when the accident occurred, said the RCMP in Mission, about 70 kilometres southeast of Vancouver.
They were doing donuts on the water, according to police, when they hit their own wake — the fast stream of water left behind on the water’s surface from a moving vessel. That impact caused both men, who weren’t wearing life jackets, to fall into the water.
The boat passenger made it ashore, and survived.
The 37-year-old boat driver from Dewdney, which is about 85 kilometres southeast of Vancouver, was still missing Saturday morning. Search crews, who spent the day on the water, located his body late in the afternoon.
“This is a tragic end to what was supposed to be an enjoyable evening on the water,” RCMP Cpl. Harrison Mohr said in a statement.
“As we enter peak boating season, please remember to always wear a life jacket when you’re on the water, as it only takes a second for something to go terribly wrong,” he added. “It’s like a seatbelt in a car — it only works if you wear it.”
The RCMP said alcohol may have been a factor in the accident.
Police said the Nicomen Slough area where the accident occurred is only around 12 feet deep, and there was no major current observed flowing through the stream of the Fraser River on Saturday morning.