At least three people died Monday after a fishing boat sank off the coast of La Tabatière, a village in Quebec’s Lower North Shore, in the Gulf of St. Lawrence.
Three others were taken to the hospital in unknown condition, the Canadian Coast Guard said.
All six crew members were found in the water.
The boat was identified as the Silver Condor, a 60-foot vessel from Blanc-Sablon in Quebec, about 800 miles northwest of Montreal.
Blanc-Sablon Mayor Andrew Etheridge told CBC that his cousin was among the deceased.
“It’s definitely difficult, it’s a small community so any loss affects many people,” he said.
The Silver Condor sent a distress signal around 2:30 a.m. Monday, prompting six ships from the Canadian Coast Guard and the Department of National Defense plus a helicopter to search for the boat.
The Coast Guard said the boat sank about 20 nautical miles offshore.
It’s unclear what caused the ship to capsize, but the reason was not believed to be criminal in nature.
Provincial police said the Quebec coroner would investigate.
A number of tragedies have befallen fishing vessels recently.
The U.S. Coast Guard called off its search after a luxury fishing boat sank off the coast of Alaska in May with one confirmed death and four others still missing.
In February 2022, a commercial fishing boat registered in Spain sank about 280 miles off the coast of Newfoundland, losing at least nine crew members before the search was called off with several others unaccounted for.
David Matthews
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