The RCMP launched an investigation into the circumstances of a suspicious fire which saw an old BC ferries ship abandoned and burning wildly during the night near mission, British Columbia
A Declaration of the City of the Mission said its emergency operations center was activated early Saturday after a fire on the Queen of Sidney Ferry, which is currently seated in the waters of the Fraser River, about two kilometers from the municipality of 41,500 people.
RCMP said in a press release The mission firefighters informed them of the fire around 2 a.m. on Saturday. The ship was completely engulfed in the flames.
Police and the city urged nearby residents to stay inside due to smoke and the potential presence of dangerous airborne materials. Residents have also been advised near the fire to keep their doors and their windows closed and deactivate the ventilation systems that provide outside air.
The Queen of Sidney burned the night in Mission, in British Columbia
Global News
The Retirement ship of BC Ferries was in service from 1960 until it retired in 2000.
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Its current owners, who renamed it Bad Adventure, would have had A long history of quarrels with local and provincial politicians.
Mission said that following a coordination call earlier on Saturday, several agencies are actively engaged in the management of the situation and what happens to the ship then.
These include the Fire Rescue Service mission, provincial and federal ministries of the environment, the RCMP and the Canadian Coast Guard. The Canadian Coast Guard moves to the scene to help marine security and environmental security operations, the city said.
On its website, the city of mission said that the cause of the fire had not been determined but added it “is considered suspect”. He did not develop.
The RCMP added: “At that time, there is nothing to indicate that the fire was intentionally fixed, although due to the dangerous nature of the smoke and the overall state of the ship, the investigators were unable to climb the old ferry.”
The mission authorities said the fire was under control by the middle of the afternoon, but warned that the charred metal mass would continue to smoke for several days.
The fire aboard the abandoned ship represents a tragic and unworthy end for a formerly corrected ship.
The ferry was one of the first two orders for the first ordinance by the Prime Minister of the BC, Wac Bennett, when he created the BC Ferries Crown Corporation in 1958.
During his first trip two years later, Bennett also presented the new provincial flag of British Columbia after having removed it from a suitcase and launched the mast.
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