The Wednesday, June 13, rescue by Kitsilano Coast Guard Base has reignited the debate over the impending base closure. Check out the coverage below.
The Kitsilano Coast Guard station set to be shut down next spring is being credited with responding to a boat collision early Wednesday morning in English Bay in a matter of minutes.
Two anchored boats, a wood-hulled fishing boat and a steel-hulled sailboat, collided at about 4:25 a.m. and a coast guard crew managed to arrive at the scene with assistance by 4:30 a.m.
Authorities estimate the Sea Island Coast Guard base located near the Vancouver International Airport would have taken roughly a half hour to respond to the scene.
Fortunately, the sailboat was unoccupied and the lone occupant of the fishing boat was not injured.
By: ctvbc.ca
Date: Wednesday Jun. 13, 2012 7:31 PM PT
Meanwhile, Fisheries Minister Keith Ashfield says despite anger from Vancouver’s mayor and a push by BC to keep Kits base open, it will close. Ashfield plans to come to Vancouver to explain the closure. Ottawa claims that Kits Coast Guard Base waters will be covered by “a new hovercraft at Sea Island, a new in-shore rescue station and a greater reliance on the volunteer Coast Guard.”
Last modified: June 15, 2012
