June 13, 2012 - 12:21 PM
SECHELT, B.C. - First responders from across B.C. are expected at a memorial this weekend to honour two Royal Canadian Marine Search and Rescue members killed in the line of duty.
Forty-three-year-old Angie Nemeth and 51-year-old Beatrice Sorenson died June 3 when the were trapped underneath an inflatable boat after it flipped during a training mission in Skookumchuck Narrows, a treacherous stretch of water about 120 kilometres northwest of Vancouver.
A public memorial will be held Sunday at a secondary school in the Sunshine Coast community of Sechelt, hometown of both women.
A B.C. ferry will carry most of the memorial participants to the Sunshine Coast on Sunday morning and officials say it will be escorted by Royal Canadian Marine Search and Rescue vessels, while a fly-past by the Comox-based 442 Search and Rescue Squadron is also being organized.
A probe into the cause of the accident has been put on hold during the memorial preparations but the president of RCM-SAR, Randy Strandt, says it will resume following the service.
Transportation Safety Board officials estimate a final report is at least one year away, although they confirm a problem with a self-righting mechanism on the doomed inflatable, and say any important findings could prompt a safety letter, before the final document is issued. (CKAY)
News from © The Canadian Press, 2012