Questions remain after deaths of seal hunters

The death of four sealers off the coast of Cape Breton continued to raise questions Sunday about events leading to the accident that took their lives.

One of two survivors from the L'Acadien II said the crew of a Canadian Coast Guard icebreaker towing the vessel when it capsized failed to notice they were being pulled over a large chunk of ice.

Bruno-Pierre Bourque said he contacted the Sir William Alexander to alert the larger vessel. After the boat overturned, he and a second crew member, Claude Déraspe, ended up in the water and were rescued by a nearby fishing vessel.

"The boat was stopped on a large piece of ice, and the icebreaker continued to put pressure on it," he said. "The ice was packed immediately in front of us. Before contacting the icebreaker, we did what we could. It didn't work and the vessel capsized."

Bourque, who was at the helm of the 12-metre L'Acadien II when it flipped, said he didn't see any crew on the other vessel's deck watching out for trouble. He said the boat was veering to the left because of a rudder problem and could not directly follow the path cleared by the icebreaker.

The boat from the Îles de la Madeleine in Quebec was carrying a crew of six when it reported a steering malfunction while navigating in thick ice late Friday, 70 kilometres north of Cape Breton. The Sir William Alexander was called to tow the boat to Sydney, N.S.

Divers later recovered the bodies of three men who had been asleep when the boat overturned. Among the victims were Bruno-Pierre Bourque's father, Bruno Bourque, the captain of the boat.

Officials called off the search for a missing crew member, a father of a two-year-old, on Saturday night after they decided there was no way he could have survived in the cold water.

"It's always sad when you can't find the body of a loved one," said Joel Arseneau, the mayor of Îles de la Madeleine. "We understand, though, that it's far away and the currents are really strong. Very few people expect that a person could survive at this point in time."

Arseneau said family and friends on the islands are feeling both shock and anger.

"At first there was disbelief and people thought of this as a sealing accident. As the day went on, we realized it was more of a towing accident by the Coast Guard and although there's a great feeling of sadness, people are also upset and mad at what happened … and they're looking for answers," he said.