4 injured after water taxi carrying 6 people collides with rocks near Tofino, B.C.
Four people were injured and two of them are in serious condition after a water taxi carrying six people hit rocks and ran aground near Tofino, B.C., according to the Joint Rescue Coordination Centre.
In a written statement, the JRCC said an Ahousaht auxiliary vessel near Tofino received a report around 9:27 a.m that a vessel had run aground near the Catface Mountain Range.
The Canadian Coast Guard Ship the Cape Ann responded and found a 25-foot water taxi with six people onboard, four of them with injuries.
The coast guard took all six people to the First Street Dock in Tofino, where they were transferred to Emergency Health Services for assessment. BCEHS said in a statement that two people were in serious condition and two stable.
The JRCC says the coast guard towed the water taxi back to Tofino, as it was taking on water.
Marceline Jack, who responded to the accident, said the people onboard had to be evacuated quickly because of a large hole in the front of the vessel the "Rocky Pass."
Jack said she saw passengers suffering broken bones and cuts, and that the boat operator was also injured.
Jack said the boat may have been transporting nurses to Ahousaht, B.C., located on Flores Island off the west coast of Vancouver Island.
Weather conditions in Tofino between 7 and 10 a.m., when the incident occurred, were extremely foggy, according to records from Environment Canada.
The Transportation Safety Board is conducting an investigation.
