BC Ferries vessels diverted for rescue of 3 boaters in Strait of Georgia

Three people were rescued from the Strait of Georgia on Sunday afternoon following asearch-and-rescueeffort that called intwo BC Ferries ships.

The trio wasboating in a 6.5-metre vesselin the Strait of Georgia, between Sechelt and Nanaimo, when the craft started taking on water just after 4 p.m. PT, said Lt. Chelsea Dubeau, a spokesperson for theJoint Rescue Coordination Centre in Victoria.

A rescue call came in, and two BC Ferries ships the Queen of Oak Bay and the Queen of Cowichan were dispatched to help with the search and rescue, alongside vessels from the Coast Guard, Dubeau said.

Hamid Tarighatbinwas on one of the ferries that were dispatched. He says the vessel,headed to Horseshoe Bay from Nanaimo, was delayed earlier in the day due to a mechanical issue.

Were it not for that delay, the ship wouldn't have been in the vicinity when the rescue was called, he said.

"These guys in the water ... they were very lucky that we basically have a delay, otherwise they might not have found them," he said.

Dubeau says all three people on board are safe. Rescue officials aren't clear what caused the boat to take on water.