One man is dead and another is missing, potentially still inside a submerged vehicle, after two vehicles were swept off Bamfield Main Road and into the Sarita River during Saturday’s heavy rains.
The body of one of the men was found near his truck, which was fully submerged in the river. Police said work is underway to recover the second man’s truck; his body is believed to be inside.
Huu-ay-aht Chief Councillor John Jack identified the men as Ken Duncan and Bob Baden.
The men were travelling separately on Bamfield Main Road between Bamfield on Island’s west coast and Port Alberni.
Jack said Duncan lived in Bamfield and worked for the Huu-ay-aht Group of Businesses, while Baden was a well-known community member and businessman in Bamfield who often engaged in community events.
“We are very saddened by the losses. … As communities, this affects everyone,” Jack said.
“The Huu-ay-aht First Nations and the Alberni-Clayoquot Regional District … we send our deepest condolences to those who have been affected by this — friends, family, coworkers, colleagues, neighbours. This is very hard on all of us.”
Port Alberni RCMP responded to a pair of missing-person reports within an hour Saturday for overdue drivers on the industrial road between Port Alberni and Bamfield amid weather warnings that brought heavy downpours and flooding.
The area was pounded by rainfall starting Friday that continued through Saturday, with nearby Kennedy Lake weather station recording 318 millimeters of rain and Tofino 218 mm, according to Environment Canada.
The first missing-person report at 5:45 p.m. was for an overdue traveller who was driving from Bamfield to Victoria.
Police received the second report at 6:45 p.m. for another person driving to Bamfield from Port Alberni. The driver’s dog had been located Sunday around 1 p.m. near the Sarita River by passersby who waded in to retrieve the dog, and then contacted family, police said.
Police said they were able to ping the cellphones belonging to the missing men, indicating one of the phones last connected with a cell tower within a three-kilometre radius of the 58-kilometres mark on Bamfield Main, west of Port Alberni.
A helicopter was deployed to conduct an aerial search and Alberni Valley Search and Rescue was called to assist.
Just before 9 p.m., the family of one of the missing men notified police that they had located their loved one’s truck fully submerged in the Sarita River. Due to the fast-flowing water and darkness, emergency services were unable to confirm whether the vehicle was occupied.
RCMP said the missing driver was located deceased a short distance away.
Police said a second vehicle was also found in Sarita River, but did not immediately confirm a death.
On Monday, RCMP said teams were waiting for an opportunity to conduct “a swift-water recovery of the vehicle, which is believed to contain the second missing person.”
Jack, who is also the chair of the Alberni-Clayoquot Regional District, said in an interview the deaths bring Bamfield Road into sharp focus once again.
“We need to all come together to work on what we can do to prevent this from happening again,” said Jack.
In 2019, two University of Victoria students were killed after a bus carrying 48 people skidded off the road and crashed on Bamfield Road.
It has also been the site of at least 12 traffic deaths involving Huu-ay-aht members over the years.
A $30-million project by the province, local First Nations and forestry companies to upgrade Bamfield Road wrapped up a year ago. Improvements included 300 new culverts, guard rails and raised areas to avoid flooding, and a new chip-seal surface.
Jack said Saturday’s rain was a “once in a many decades event” and the road just couldn’t handle that much flooding and water.
“This isn’t just a storm,” he said. “This is part of a trend about climate change.”
Bamfield Main Road links Bamfield, on the Island’s west coast, to Port Alberni. The 76.6-kilometre stretch includes about 60 kilometres of road owned by Western Forest Products and 18 owned by Mosaic Forest Management, the Huu-ay-aht First Nations and the Ministry of Transportation.
Jack said the First Nation is looking to work with the companies and the incoming provincial government to find ways to make this road safer.
“That has got to be the No. 1 priority.”
