A passenger vessel known for cruises around the waters of Vancouver ended up in a precarious situation Sunday with passengers on board.
The Joint Rescue Coordination Centre Victoria says it learned MV Harbour Princess ran aground off West Vancouver late Sunday morning.
MV Harbour Princess belongs to Harbour Cruises, a local cruise ship and marine operator.
The boat hit rocks east of Point Atkinson near Lighthouse Park, with the marine rescue coordination centre notified of the crash around 11:30 a.m.
“We were having lunch and all of a sudden, ‘boom’ we hear and we crashed,” said one passenger.
It is unclear how many passengers were on board the vessel, which touts a capacity of up to 275 guests.
“It was a very abrupt stop, a lot of broken glass,” said another.
A large response followed, including a hovercraft from the JRCC, multiple Coast Guard boats, the Vancouver Police Department’s marine unit, and several civilian vessels.
Get the day’s top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day.
Passengers remained on board while the vessel was freed from the rocks. It then made its way back to port in Coal Harbour with help from a hovercraft.
“We received orders to go to the lower deck, put our life jackets on, and [there was] no problem. We were saved.”
After coming ashore, passengers told Global News that even though the vessel did not take on water, it was a scary experience.
“When I felt it, I knew we ran aground,” said Michael.
“With all the glass breaking and stuff, and that poor baby crying, that was one of the worst experiences I’ve ever experienced in my life.”
B.C. Emergency Health Services reported one patient was transported to hospital in stable condition.
Global News reached out to the company for more information on why the boat ran off course, but they declined to comment at this time.
As the end of the school year in Calgary steadily approaches, drivers are being reminded that it’s no excuse…
Last week’s top articles on ETF Database and ETF Trends were closely connected to current…
The AI boom is ‘wreaking havoc’ on communities across the US by subjecting residents to…
Trusted Editorial content, reviewed by leading industry experts and seasoned editors. Ad Disclosure Sam Bankman-Fried…
Descrease article font size Increase article font size The City of Vancouver has announced that…
Iran’s soccer federation has reportedly been stripped of its allocation of World Cup tickets, days…