Alcohol may play a role in boating accident after two people died: NS RCMP

Two Nova Scotia men died when the boat they were traveling in sank in the Annapolis River in Granville Centre, NS on Monday.

At around 5:30 p.m., the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) of Annapolis, along with firefighters, ground search and rescue crews, and members of the Joint Rescue Coordination Centre (JRCC), responded to a report that a 14-foot vessel with four people on board had sunk.

When RCMP arrived on scene, they learned that two people, a 46-year-old man from Granville Centre and a 27-year-old man from Weymouth, NS, had swum from the sunken boat and reached shore safely.

A police press release on Tuesday afternoon said that three fire department search boats, a CH-149 Cormorant helicopter and a JRCC C-130 Hercules fixed-wing aircraft were dispatched to the scene of the accident.

“We received a distress call requesting assistance in locating missing boaters in the Annapolis Royal area. Based on that call, we dispatched our aircraft,” said Nicole Lively of the JRCC.

At approximately 11 p.m., a third person, a 49-year-old man from Granville Centre, was found by a search boat. He was taken to Kentville, NS hospital, where he later died from his injuries.

The RCMP said the search for the fourth man continued throughout the evening.

Around midnight, police said the remains of a 26-year-old man from Granville Centre were found and recovered.

“Investigators are gathering all witness statements and information on site and anyone who witnessed the incident is welcome to come forward and make a statement to police,” said Guillaume Tremblay of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) of Nova Scotia.

At this point, police believe alcohol played a role.

The investigation is ongoing.

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