2 men dead after boat sinks on Annapolis River

A Nova Scotia fire chief says the death of two men in a boating accident on a popular river in the province's Annapolis Valley has hit the tight-knit community hard.

The 49-year-old man and 26-year-old man, both from Granville Centre, died Monday evening after their boat sank on the Annapolis River.

Annapolis Royal Volunteer Fire Department Chief Andrew Cranton called it a tragic event that is being felt across the Valley, known for its picturesque landscapes and rural lifestyle.

"It's struck the community really, really hard because they're local people in a small community," said Cranton in an interview Tuesday afternoon,

"Everybody knows everybody, and everybody is feeling for everybody, and trying to pull through."

Boaters were missing

RCMP said they received a call at around 5:30 p.m. on Monday that a four-metre vessel went down in the river in Granville Centre with four people aboard.

Investigators said when they arrived, two people — a 46-year-old Granville Centre man and a 27-year-old Weymouth man — had safely made it ashore.

A search was then launched for the remaining two boaters that included three fire services search boats, a Cormorant helicopter and a Hercules aircraft from the Joint Rescue Coordination Centre.

A short time later, a 49-year-old man was found by a search boat and was taken to hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

The body of the fourth man, 26, was found around midnight.

'Not sure what happened'

Earlier Tuesday, Cranton said it's unclear exactly what caused the boat to sink.

"All we know is that they were out for more or less like a pleasure cruise on the river at that time of the evening and something catastrophic happened with the boat and it immediately sunk," said he in an interview Tuesday morning.

"The first two were very hypothermic and information was not at a premium at that time. It was fight mode to survive because of the cold water they had just been in."

The RCMP said they are investigating the incident, and alcohol is believed to have been a factor.

Cranton added that being mindful of boating safety, including wearing a life jacket, is paramount when heading out on the water.

"Life vests only take two minutes to put on and it could save your life," he said.

The Annapolis River — popular among boaters, kayakers and recreational fishers — begins near the community of Aylesford and flows southwest for roughly 120 kilometres to its mouth near the historic small town of Annapolis Royal, where it empties into the Annapolis Basin.