Bodies of 2 men recovered from Belleisle Bay after truck goes off ferry during crossing

The bodies of two men who died aftertheir pickup truck plunged into Belleisle Bay during a ferry crossing early Sunday have been recovered, RCMP say.

No names were released, but police said one man was 37 years old and from Mill Brook, in the Sussex area, and the other was 49 and from Whites Mountain, north of Sussex.

Police believe that during the crossing,the driver of the truck accelerated, sending the vehicle forward up the ferry rampand into the bay just before 1:50 a.m. Sunday.

The bodies were found in about 24 metres of water Sunday night, and divers brought them to the surface on Monday.

The ferry, which crosses Belleisle Bay between Routes 124 and 850,was back in service early Monday evening after being sidelined by the search efforts.

The Department of Transportation would not answer questions Monday about the ramps on the cable ferry or other safety features.

Members of the Southeast RCMP, Hampton Fire Department, Joint Rescue Co-ordination Centre, Canadian Coast Guard, the New Brunswick Department of Environment, the Cormorant helicopter from CFB Greenwood and the RCMP's underwater recovery team took part in the search for the victims.

"We will continue to investigate to determine what happened and how the truck ended up going into the water," saidRCMP spokesperson Cpl. Jullie Rogers-Marsh.