Family members have identified 2 men who died in the sinking of a catamaran off Tofino Sunday.
According to CTV news, Alvin Beckley (38) and Mike Cutler (42), both of Alberta, were working in Tofino as part of a construction crew at the Pacific Sands Resort. They were among 5 people on board the 'Catatonic' when it sank off Bartlett Island after sending out a single may day call 1:20 Sunday afternoon. Cutler leaves 2 sons, aged 15 and 17. The 3 others on board the vessel survived.
Meantime the Catamaran has been raised from the waters. The Transportation Safety Board has sent a team of 2 investigators to look into the accident. Spokesperson Chris Krepski says the investigative team has a number of tasks to complete:
"The investigators will examine the vessel if the vessel is available to be examined. They will gather information about the weather and the sea conditions. If there is any information available from the Coast Guard with respect to radio communications or radar data we'd be interested in gathering that as well."
Krepski says investigators will also interview the crew, passengers and witnesses. And if there are any onboard recordings or other navigation equipment that may have some data, they will be interested in obtaining that. He says investigators will need some time to complete their probe. No timeline has been put on that.
RCMP and BC Coroners Service are also investigating the incident.