A Pender Island man is dead after two small power boats collided in Swanson Channel between North Pender and Saltspring islands Friday night.
The six-metre speedboats, one carrying two people, the other carrying one, were travelling north through the channel in tandem around 8 p.m. when the boat in front suddenly swerved right to avoid a log, according to Gulf Islands RCMP.
That put it in the path of the oncoming boat, which was launched over the cockpit, fatally injuring the first boat's driver.
Rescue boats from B.C. Ferries vessels Bowen Queen and Spirit of B.C. were first on the scene, about one and a half kilometres from Thieves Bay, after diverting from their routes, said B.C. Ferries spokeswoman Deborah Marshall.
A commercial assist vessel from the Thieves Bay Marina brought the man driving the lead speedboat back to shore, where paramedics flown in by a B.C. Ambulance helicopter tried to revive him.
He was pronounced dead at the scene.
The two other boaters suffered minor injuries and were taken to shore in a Coast Guard cutter, said Mike Stacey with the Joint Rescue Co-ordination Centre in Victoria, which deployed several rescue vessels to the scene.
Both boaters are expected to be OK, he said. All three are believed to be from Pender Island.
Charles Boyte, Pender Island fire chief, said 15 firefighters and first responders were on the scene to help. He said his crew is still shaken by the tragedy.
"This is a close-knit community and the victims are well-known to the fire department."
