The Transportation Safety Board has joined in the investigation into the fatal tug boat sinking at Tolko Mill Monday night.
Spokesperson Chris Krepski says an investigation team arrived in Kelowna on Wednesday and assisted in the removal of the sunken boat from the waters.
“Once it’s in a secure location, where they will be able to take a closer look at it, they will inspect the condition of the vessel, the different systems on board, and of course interview the witnesses and other people who may have relevant information”
Krepski says there's no timeline on how long their investigation will take, but they hope to know more in the next few days.
The boat sank off the shores of Manhattan Point at around 9:30pm on Monday, killing the boat operator, Ivor Lundin. His body was removed from the boat on Tuesday.
Ivor Lundin/Facebook
President of the Steelworkers Union Local 1-423, Pat McGregor says Lundin was an experienced boat operator who worked at Tolko for close to 25 years. He says workers at the mill feel like one big family and the loss has been hard.
“Everyone is quite upset and, you know, a lot of sad feelings and a lot of our members taking it very difficult, especially the ones that were there at the time and helped look for Ivor”
Kelowna RCMP, WorkSafeBC and the BC Coroners Service are all involved in the investigation.
The mill was closed on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Tolko Mill workers and RCMP officers outside the mill's entrance on Tuesday.