The RCMP logo is seen outside the force's "E" division headquarters in Surrey, B.C., Thursday, March 16, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
PORT ALBERNI, B.C. – Police say they have found the body of a second person who was trapped in their submerged vehicle after a road washout on the west coast of Vancouver Island.
The confirmation marks at least three deaths linked to torrential rain from an atmospheric weather system that hammered B.C.’s south coast over the weekend.
Port Alberni RCMP say two vehicles went into the Sarita River when Bamfield Road washed out on Saturday.
The body of the other driver was found a short distance from their truck, which was spotted in the water by a family member on Saturday night.
Police say they confirmed the second person was inside their vehicle on Monday, but high water levels and fast-moving currents prevented emergency crews from accessing it, and they will launch a recovery effort once it’s safe to do so.
The same weather system also set off a mudslide that swept away a home in the Metro Vancouver city of Coquitlam on Saturday.
The body of a 57-year-old elementary school teacher was recovered in the wreckage on Sunday.
Police have also asked for the public’s help in locating a 59-year-old man who was last seen in an area beside the swollen Coquitlam River on Sunday afternoon.
Premier David Eby said the man had been walking by the river with his dog, which was found alive, but “troublingly” very wet, while its owner remains missing.
In the Columbia Valley, Eby said the coroner’s service is investigating the death of another man that “may be associated with the atmospheric river.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 22, 2024.
