Efforts to refloat barge that crashed into Vancouver’s Sunset Beach seawall prove unsuccessful

Efforts to remove a barge that ran aground on Vancouver’s Sunset Beach have failed.

A crowd gathered along the seawall on Tuesday afternoon to watch as a tug struggled to pull the barge off the shore at high tide. The tug left after a couple of unsuccessful attempts at moving the barge.

The Canadian Coast Guard said the owner is responsible for securing, salvaging, and arranging a tow for the barge.

2:27 B.C. floods: Heavy rain and wind cause chaos in Metro Vancouver

The coast guard said it will be monitoring any salvage attempts.

It also said it was not aware of anyone on board the barge, nor any risks of pollution, adding there are no hydrocarbons on board.

The barge drifted loose in Vancouver’s English Bay on Monday afternoon as an atmospheric river drenched the southern part of the province, leading to widespread flooding.

1:03 Barge drifts loose in Vancouver’s English Bay as atmospheric river drenches B.C.

Downtown Vancouver Twitter users shared footage of the runaway vessel.

The City of Vancouver closed the Burrard Bridge Monday night “due to the risk of the barge at Sunset Beach coming loose and colliding with the bridge.”

—With files from Elizabeth McSheffrey