SECHELT (NEWS1130) – A training exercise for two volunteer coast guard members went gone terribly wrong yesterday.

The two women were part of a group of four out on a training exercise in an inflatable boat, much like a Zodiac. They were in Skookumchuck Narrows near Sechelt when their boat flipped.

It appears the two women got trapped underneath the boat. Their bodies were found under the hull.

“We’re in no position to speculate what happened. We do know the vessel did flip over and remained overturned during the course of this case,” says Sgt. Dan Bodden with the Joint Rescue Coordination Centre in Victoria.

He points out the area is popular with thrill-seekers.

“What we do understand is that the current in there at the time was quite rapid,” he says. “That did modify our initial search pattern.”

Two men were rescued and were unhurt.

The four were members of the Royal Canadian Marine Search and Rescue unit. Colleagues from the same unit were the ones called upon to perform the rescue.