Coast guard crew disputes sealers' claim tow was unmonitored

The crew of a coast guard icebreaker involved in a botched weekend tow operation off Cape Breton is giving a different account of what happened before at least three seal hunters died than a survivor and a witness, the Transport Safety Board said Tuesday. 

The disabled 12-metre trawler L'Acadien II was being towed by the Sir William Alexander early Saturday in the Gulf of St. Lawrence when the small boat hit an ice block and capsized, killing the three sealers and leaving a fourth presumed dead in icy waters.

Two crew members on the icebreaker were monitoring the operation when the small trawler capsized, said Pierre Murray, a senior safety board marine investigator.

"Our investigation has determined that there were two men at the stern of the ship," Murray said in French.

That conclusion contradicts the accounts of one of the two survivors and a witness on another boat, who both said they saw no one at the stern of the ship.

The three bodies that were pulled out of the capsized boat could arrive in the sealers' home community of Îles de la Madeleine as early as Tuesday night if the weather clears enough to let flights land.

'Nobody looking,' witness says

In addition to sorrow, members of the community are expressing their anger over what they view as a series of questions the coast guard hasn't answered about the events that led to the tragedy.

Wayne Dickson, captain of the Madelinot War Lord, which was trailing L'Acadien II when it tipped over, told CBC News the events leading up to the deaths of his friends have left their mark on him. 

"Every time I close my eyes, I see the boat going over, and it just tears the heart out of me that we were there, so close and within reach, and couldn't do anything," Dickson said.

"We felt hopeless. It was a hopeless situation to be in with no help from the coast guard at all."

He said coast guard personnel initially watched the towing process, but after a while were nowhere to be seen.

"At the time when she was going over these ice cakes, there was nobody looking," he said.

Bruno-Pierre Bourque, one of the two survivors, has cancelled a few events where he planned to recount details of the accident. But Bourque told CBC's French-language sister station RDI on the weekend that he did not see anyone on the icebreaker monitoring the tow.  

The federal safety agency, RCMP and coast guard are all conducting investigations. An RCMP spokesman said that while a criminal negligence investigation could be sparked by new information, it appears the incident was simply an "unfortunate accident" and criminal charges are not expected.

Searchlight allegedly turned off

Dickson's crew started the rescue operation and plucked two of the submerged vessel's crewmen out of the freezing water. He alleges someone on the icebreaker made a decision that drastically hindered search efforts.

"We were circling around, trying to find more guys and the God-damned coast guard turned the fucking light off, excuse my language," Dickson said. "They turned the spotlight off and we couldn't see."

Gilles Leblanc, Marc-André Déraspe and Acadien II captain Bruno Bourque were killed when their boat overturned. Carl Aucoin is missing and presumed dead.

The funerals for the men will take place on Saturday.