BC Ferries passenger rescued after falling overboard near Tsawwassen terminal

A person who accidentally went overboard near the Tsawwassen Ferry Terminal was rescued by ferry staff and first responders.

There were tense moments on a BC Ferries vessel after a passenger fell overboard Wednesday afternoon.

The company said the incident happened around 1 p.m., not long after the Spirit of Vancouver Island had departed from the Tsawwassen ferry terminal.

The ferry was approximately two kilometres from shore when someone plummeted into the water on the starboard side, in what a BC Ferries spokesperson confirmed was an accident.

Alexander Westersund was among the passengers on board, and said the emergency was announced over the PA system: “Man overboard, man overboard.”

The rescue was underway within minutes, Westersund said.

“They’ve trained for this and you could tell,” he said. “It wasn’t panic mode for them, it was game time.”

Crews from that vessel and the Queen of New Westminster both responded to the incident, deploying rescue boats and pulling the individual from the water as crowds of passengers watched.

“We recognize how distressing this incident was for those on board and we are grateful for the swift actions of our crew and emergency responders,” said BC Ferries spokesperson Sonia Lowe, in an email.

“We also thank our customers for their patience and understanding during this emergency.”

It’s unclear what caused the accident that sent the passenger into the water.

After the rescue, workers returned the person to the Tsawwassen terminal, where ambulance paramedics were waiting to provide care.

The individual is “reported to be in stable condition,” the company said.

Passengers have been warned to expect an approximately hour-long delay on the Tsawwassen-Swartz Bay ferry route as a result of the rescue.