Three people rescued after boat capsizes near Fort St. James, B.C.

FORT ST. JAMES — Three people have been rescued after a boat capsized on a lake in British Columbia’s northern Interior.

Police in Fort St. James say the accident happened Tuesday when the small boat capsized and sank in Stuart Lake’s Sowchea Bay, located just west of the Interior community.

A man and a child who were wearing personal flotation devices were able to swim to shore.

Police say the third person, a man who was not wearing a life-jacket, had difficulty climbing into vessels that went to his aid after nearby residents heard cries for help.

Police say he ended up spending 90 minutes in the water clinging to debris from the sunken boat before an RCMP vessel plucked him from the lake.

All three were assessed by paramedics onshore, and their conditions have not been released.

There has been a number of vessel sinkings and capsizings in B.C. waters in the last few weeks, including a June 28 charter boat sinking off Metro Vancouver that left one woman dead and six people missing and feared drowned.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 8, 2026.

The Canadian Press