3 dead after nighttime boat crash on B.C. lake, RCMP say
Police and coroner investigating crash in darkness on Seton Lake, near Lillooet
RCMP say three people were killed in a boat crash on a lake near Lillooet, B.C., early Sunday morning.
Police said a witness who was at Seton Lake at around 2 a.m. PT reported hearing a power boat speed past, then heard the sound of a "loud bang."
An immediate search was not conducted because it was still dark, a statement Monday said. A search team, assisted by an RCMP marine team, set out early the next morning.
Shortly after 7 a.m., a recreational boater found a partially capsized boat and three bodies in the water nearby, the statement said.
The bodies were recovered by the search team, which included members of the Seton Fire Department, Fisheries and Oceans Canada and search and rescue personnel.
The cause of the crash, which is believed to have taken place about a kilometre from shore, is being investigated by Lillooet RCMP, in consultation with the RCMP West Coast Marine Services, and the BC Coroners Service.
The identities of the dead — two men and one woman — are not being released at this time, police said.