Two people are seriously injured after a boat and a float plane collided in Vancouver's Coal Harbour Saturday (June 8).
Vancouver assistant fire chief Walter Pereira told Black Press Media that emergency crews were called out just before 1 p.m. for the marine incident.
Crews didn't have much information at the time, he said, but Vancouver fire already had a unit in the water and were able to respond quickly, along with the port authority and other private boats.
He said the plane passengers were pulled out safely without injuries before the plane sank.
There were four people on the boat, a pleasure craft, and two of them were seriously injured. The fire boat crew helped get the patients to Harbour Air's dock and then to paramedics with B.C. Emergency Health Services.
Harbour Air confirmed it was one of its seaplanes involved in the crash. Public affairs head Jessica Dunn said the plane was taking off on a scenic tour with five passengers on board.
Pereira said it was excellent team work.
"It was pretty chaotic for the first initial few minutes," he said, adding that it's a very busy area and most boaters are well aware of the flight paths of float planes.
Vancouver police said the crash happened near Canada Place.
Pereira said the plane, which sunk, was dragged out to the Main Street dock.
The Transportation Safety Board of Canada has been deployed to the crash
Tina Lovgreen, media relations manager for TransLink, posted on X to say she'd spoken with a SeaBus captain who saw the float plane in the water and "quickly diverted to provide assistance, ready to deploy a life raft."
Black Press Media has reached out to Vancouver police and the Transportation Safety Board of Canada for more information.
