| The Transportation Safety Board of Canada reports that "At about 2250 on 08 June 2005, in good weather conditions, the rented pleasure craft Quintana Roo cast off from the public wharf at Kelowna, British Columbia, with a total of 61 persons on board: 55 on the upper deck, and 6 inside the lower accommodation area. Minutes after leaving its berth, the vessel listed to port and rapidly capsized. Many persons jumped or fell off and some, together with members of the public, helped to rescue those trapped inside. Some suffered minor injuries, and one person succumbed later, in hospital." "The Quintana Roo was designed and built in 1983 as a houseboat and was registered as a pleasure craft. The original design consisted of a flat, rectangular aluminium platform mounted atop two side pontoons. An additional centreline pontoon at the stern housed the engine, and the fuel, freshwater, and sewage tanks. A wooden superstructure forming the accommodation area was bolted atop the aluminium platform. The accommodation area consisted of a lounge, kitchenette, washroom, and cabin. A manoeuvring station was located on this level at the starboard side of the forward end; it contained the steering wheel, engine controls, magnetic compass, and a radio. Aft, a small open area served as a stage for either ascending to the upper deck via a ladder, or for entering the accommodation. There was also a small open area forward. The open upper deck, also known as the sun deck, was surrounded by a 1 m high railing. A hot tub weighing approximately 1500 kg when full was located aft of midships, a 45-person liferaft was located at the stern, and a loudspeaker system weighing about 160 kg was located at the forward end. A second manoeuvring station was situated at the starboard forward end of the deck. The pleasure craft was originally designed with a sleeper cabin on the upper deck. In 2002, the sleeper cabin was removed and the hot tub was added. Another centre pontoon, extending about two-thirds of the length of the pleasure craft from forward, was also fitted for additional buoyancy. Each pontoon had transverse divisions that formed watertight compartments. A compartment located within the accommodation area contained standard-type lifejackets for 45 persons." |
