Federal officials with the Transportation Safety Board of Canada are in Vancouver to investigate Saturday afternoon’s plane crash in Coal Harbour.
Vancouver Fire Rescue said the first call came in just before 1 p.m., saying a small float plane collided with a boat when trying to take off.
Assistant fire chief Walter Pereira said two people on board the boat were seriously injured.
Two other people were on the boat and were uninjured. No serious injuries were reported for the four plane passengers or the pilot.
Safety board officials have been deployed to the scene and have spoken with police.
They’re also coordinating with the Joint Rescue Coordination Centre, Nav Canada and the air operator for its investigation into what exactly led to the crash.
Safety board investigators are also beginning their witness interviews on Sunday.
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“In the next few days, the investigation team will attend the aircraft recovery, examine the wreckage, continue gathering information, and conduct more interviews,” a Transportation Safety Board spokesperson said in an email.
Global News has obtained video from a witness of the crash. The plane can be seen trying to take off when it collides with a small pleasure boat.
Two people were seen being taken away on a stretcher in the aftermath.
The Port Of Vancouver confirmed the collision later Saturday afternoon.
“We can confirm there was a collision between a Harbour Air float plane and a recreational boat at 12:51 p.m. at the entrance of Coal Harbour,” Arpen Rana said, a Port of Vancouver spokesperson.
“Canadian Coast Guard alerted the port authority and other first responders about the incident. A port authority harbour patrol vessel and other emergency response vessels responded to the incident immediately.”
TransLink spokeswoman Tina Lovgreen said, in another social media post, that the captain of a SeaBus saw the float plane in the water and “quickly diverted to provide assistance, ready to deploy a life raft.”
Lovgreen said the SeaBus was on scene until the vessel was released by the Canadian Coast Guard, and returned to the terminal.
Vancouver city councillor called first responders and the captain’s actions as life saving.
“Our first responders and SeaBus crew arrived on scene almost immediately and their efforts were undoubtedly lifesaving,” he said on social media.
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