B.C. police are investigating a bizarre and "surreal" accident between a speedboat and houseboat that left one person dead and several others seriously injured over the weekend.
The 40-year-old owner of the houseboat was killed as he stood at the vessel's wheel, when the speedboat crashed directly into the houseboat. Two others on the houseboat were still in hospital as of Sunday.
The speedboat hit with such impact that it completely embedded itself into the houseboat.
"Speed may be a concern due to the sheer nature of the collision, this vessel would not have ended up literally inside the houseboat, if it wasn't going a reasonable speed," Sgt. Troy Beauregard of the Chase RCMP said.
The crash occurred near midnight Saturday on Shuswap Lake, in the B.C. interior northeast of Kamloops, as dozens of boats were dispersing after a fireworks display.
The accident comes as new laws have just come into effect on Canada's lakes, which are homes to a number of fatalities, often exacerbated by alcohol, every summer.
In May, Transport Canada brought in new safety rules, requiring anyone who uses a "pleasure craft" to obtain a licence.
But a local politician says not enough is being done to enforce the law on the water.
Denis Delisle, North Shuswap Regional Director, said he's heard numerous complaints about unsafe practices on the lake.
"Going really fast, ignoring other people around them, driving without lights, going too close to swimmers – those are constant complaints I hear in the summertime," he said Monday. "You dread what could happen."
There were 13 people on the houseboat and three on the speedboat at the time of the accident.
Interior Health spokeswoman Cathy Renkas told CTV British Columbia six people were treated and released, and two others were admitted to the hospital.
Investigators from Transport Canada and the RCMP West Coast Marine Services are involved in the accident probe.
