Dive club rescued off coast of Victoria B.C. after boat capsizes
Members of a dive club on an excursion off the coast of Victoria B.C. were rescued after the boat they were in capsized.
There were nine people on board the dive club vessel when it overturned, eight of those people were wearing dry suits, while one person was not.
Royal Canadian Marine Search and Rescue said on their Facebook page that the scuba divers were getting buffeted by waves in their seven-metre open aluminum boat.
"They were extremely lucky to have been able to call for help and not have [divers] down at the time," said the post. "This is our third call to Race Rocks for divers with [one] fatality. Please use extreme caution around Race Rocks and only dive there with very experienced divers."
Victoria's Joint Rescue Co-ordination Centre can't say what caused the vessel to capsize but says four rescue boats were dispatched to help save the divers who clung to the hull of their over-turned boat.
They were all recovered and taken to paramedics in four ambulances and one helicopter, which were waiting at Pedder Bay near Victoria.
One person was transported to hospital in stable condition, while another person was assessed at the scene and released.
The accident happened on Sunday when the dive club was on an excursion to Race Rocks, an ecological reserve that is popular among divers for the marine life that is in abundance there.
