People in a Newfoundland town are grieving the deaths of two fishermen while anxiously awaiting news about a third missing after a small boat sank off the community’s coast Tuesday.
Bob Traverse, mayor of Fleur de Lys, N.L., said Wednesday the town hall will be opened as a meeting spot for residents to gather and support each other. Some people had already arrived at the local church earlier in the morning to wait for news, he said.
“Search and rescue and the helicopters are still out there,” Traverse said in a phone interview. “It’s pretty sad here.” He said the town of about 200 residents was already coping with three deaths from natural causes before the sinking.
“We'll help each other out to get through it,” he said.
The RCMP received a report from the Canadian Coast Guard at around 3:30 p.m. on Tuesday about the sinking of a seven-metre fishing boat less than a kilometre from shore. Police said in a news release Wednesday that the boat went down 1.6 kilometres from the harbour in Fleur de Lys, which is about 375 kilometres northwest of St. John’s. There were four men on board.
Local fishers rescued one of the men from the shore, the release said. They also recovered the two bodies of the men who didn’t survive. The rescued man was assessed by an emergency medical team and did not require further care.
A search for the missing man began Tuesday, with help from the coast guard, Canadian Armed Forces and local residents, RCMP said. Traverse said he could hear a helicopter swooping overhead well into the night.
On Wednesday, rescue teams from several towns in western and central Newfoundland were dispatched to help the coast guard and the Armed Forces search for the missing man on land, at sea and from the air. The RCMP’s underwater recovery team was also on site, police said.
Traverse said the cod fishermen aboard the vessel are believed to be from Fleur de Lys and the nearby community of Coachman’s Cove. He said local fishers set out early Wednesday to keep looking for the missing man.
“We’ve had lots of tragedies over the years, and we always come together and try to help each other,” Traverse said.
The Mounties say they’re investigating the incident in partnership with Transport Canada and provincial workplace health and safety officials.
