March 22nd, 2006
British Columbia’s Titanic
They were asleep in their beds, and a few minutes later, they were packed in lifeboats, without warm clothes and some without even shoes, in the rain.
Those few minutes started at 12:25 AM today. A ferry was on its overnight route from Port Hardy on Vancouver Island to Prince Rupert on BC’s northern coast, and it had moved off-course from the rough waves. It hit a rock.
A distress call went out. Residents of an isolated fishing village heard it and rushed out to the sinking ferry with their boats. They, along with people on the Coast Guard boat that happened to be in the area, pulled people from the lifeboats and into their boats. They took them to Hartley Bay, the nearby village of about 200.
Like the Titanic, the ferry tilted until its nose was pointing up, and then it sunk into the water. Unlike the Titanic, it took less than one hour rather than several hours to sink. Those who were there described the sound of the cars on the ferry crashing into each other as the ferry disappeared into the ocean.
The village community hall became the emergency shelter. In the middle of the night, just about everyone in Hartley Bay was awake and helping. They provided food, coffee, blankets, clothing, and comfort.
Except for possibly two passengers who are unaccounted for, all the passengers of Queen of the North are safe. But the coastal communities are now without ferry transportation. People are stranded at both ends of the route. Tourism will also suffer until another ferry can be put on the coastal route.
The “what to do now” discussions will start soon. But with 99+ people rescued in a short time, the overall feeling now is relief.
More information is in these articles: