Body recovered from car that crashed off ferry

Crews recover a minivan that crashed off a B.C. ferry into the water off Gabriola Island Wednesday. March 21, 2013. (Derek Kilbourn/Gabriola Sounder)

The body of a 32-year-old woman has been recovered from the car that sped onto a B.C. ferry Wednesday then plunged into the water off Gabriola Island.

An RCMP dive team located the vehicle 120 feet underwater and managed to remove the deceased at around 1 p.m. Thursday.

Her name is not being released at the request of her next of kin, but Mounties confirm she was a Gabriola Island resident.

Authorities will next try to recover the vehicle using air sacks to float it to the surface of the water.

The RCMP investigation has been completed and turned over to the coroner’s office.

The bizarre crash occurred at around 3:45 a.m. Wednesday, when the vehicle sped through a steel gate at the Descanso Bay terminal and onto the ramp fo the MV Quinsam, which was moored for the night.

The car then sped through the ferry’s deck and launched into the water.