Two dead after fishing boat sinks off Fleur de Lys

Two people are dead after a commercial cod fishing vessel with four men on board went down in the waters off the coast of Fleur de Lys yesterday afternoon.

One man was rescued and one man remains missing.

The search for the missing man continues today.

At approximately 3:30 p.m. on Tuesday, RCMP received the report of the sunken vessel from the Canadian Coast Guard. The 23-foot vessel was approximately one hundred meters off the shoreline and approximately one mile away from the harbour in Fleur de Lys when it sunk. Local fishermen rescued one individual from the shoreline and recovered two others who were deceased. The survivor, who was assessed by local EMS at the scene, did not require further medical attention.

The Joint Rescue Coordination Centre was engaged yesterday. Resources from the Canadian Coast Guard and the Canadian Armed Forces were deployed and conducted a search of the area into the evening hours last night using a helicopter and multiple vessels. A number of local residents also assisted in last night’s search. The man was not located.

Today, searches on land, in the air and on the water are continuing with resources deployed from the Canadian Coast Guard, the Canadian Armed Forces and search and rescue teams from Deer Lake, Grand Falls-Windsor and Springdale. The RCMP Underwater Recovery team is engaged.

The investigation into the cause of the sunken vessel is continuing in partnership with Transport Canada and Workplace NL. The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner is engaged.