A fire at North Saanich Marina in Sidney, BC caused one death and hospitalized two others on Sunday afternoon

The Victoria Times Colonist is reporting that onlookers at North Saanich Marina in Sidney heard a bang from the fuel dock and then witnessed a boat engulfed in flames.

Subsequently, RCMP Cpl. Chris Manseau confirmed that one person had died in the incident, which is under investigation.

Here’s the report from the Times Colonist:

Manseau said three boats and a fuel dock were destroyed. The cause of the fire is under investigation, but does not appear suspicious at this point, he said. “It’s pretty early to determine anything,” he said. “We’ll have investigators there probably all night holding the scene.”

The RCMP’s explosive disposal unit and underwater recovery team, which will look for evidence in the water, are expected to arrive Monday.

Thick, dark smoke billowed into the sky from the fire, which smoldered for hours.

Findlay and Katherine Gibbons were sitting outside on their property that looks onto the marina when they heard a “huge bang” and saw white smoke rising from a boat at the marina’s fuel dock around 4 p.m.

“Somebody flew up in the air [off the boat] and landed in the water,” Findlay Gibbons said. “There was a lot of screaming and somebody dove in for him.”

The couple saw a rubber dinghy arrive on the scene to help rescue the person, and people performed CPR “for the longest time.”

“Shortly thereafter flames appeared on the boat and we ran and phoned 911,” he said.

They watched flames spread from the boat to the marina’s fuel dock and could hear cries for help. One man ran across the Gibbons’ property and dove into the water and swam to the dinghy to help. Continue Reading at TimesColonist.com…