Four rescued from water near Vancouver airport, search ongoing

A large-scale search and rescue operation unfolded Sunday near Sea Island, close to Vancouver International Airport, after multiple people were spotted in the Strait of Georgia without personal flotation devices. The Canadian Armed Forces' Joint Rescue Coordination Centre in Victoria received the alert from a civilian vessel, prompting an immediate response.

Resources were rapidly deployed to the area, approximately 10 nautical miles southwest of the airport. A CH-149 Cormorant helicopter and a CC-295 Kingfisher aircraft from 19 Wing Comox, along with the Canadian Coast Guard’s Hovercraft Siyay and the Main Lifeboat Station Ganges, were dispatched. Auxiliary stations from the Royal Canadian Marine Search and Rescue also joined the effort.

By 1:15 p.m., four individuals had been safely brought to the Sea Island Coast Guard Station and subsequently transferred to emergency health services. However, the search for any additional missing persons in the water continues. Ferries operated by BC Ferries and Hullo Ferries were diverted from their regular routes between Vancouver Island and the Lower Mainland to assist in the extensive search operation.