Rescue officials suspend search for six after charter boat sinks off B.C.

Rescue officials suspended the search for six people believed missing after a charter boat sank in the Strait of Georgia near Vancouver on Sunday, according to Canadian authorities. A spokesperson for the Joint Rescue Coordination Centre in Victoria said the operation was halted at 9:45 p.m. Sunday and the response was transferred to the RCMP. Canadian Armed Forces spokesperson Capt. Pedram Moyheddin said four people were rescued after reports that several people were in the water without flotation devices. By 1:15 p.m. Monday, the four rescued individuals had been taken to Sea Island Coast Guard Station and transferred to emergency health services, while the search continued for another six. The sinking began near Roberts Bank at about 11:45 a.m., after an alert from another civilian craft. Agencies including RCMP, air force, coast guard, Marine Search and Rescue, and BC Ferries were involved, amid a strong wind warning south of Nanaimo.