Nine men held after swimming ashore in B.C.

CBC News: Jun 11, 2001 

 

RCMP and Coast Guard officials are trying to figure out how nine Asian men, clad in survival suits and carrying luggage, appeared on the shores of Vancouver Island on the weekend.

The men, taken into custody Saturday, were questioned by Canadian Immigration officials on Sunday.

The Coast Guard said it received an alert Saturday from the Taiwanese government about a ship in difficulty off the island.

Rescue boats searched the area, but when nothing was found, the Coast Guard returned to base.

Later in the day, however, officials received word that campers had spotted several men swimming to shore. The men, all in good condition, were taken to a nearby native reserve, and later were transferred to Nanaimo.

After spending the night at an RCMP detachment, the men believed to be from China were driven to a Victoria detention centre.

Coast Guard officials who searched the area where the men came ashore found no vessels or oil slicks, making it less likely that the men were survivors of a ship that sank. A dinghy was found about one kilometre away from where the men were found.

"It is our assumption that they were dropped off and the ship turned around," said Coast Guard spokesman Bryan Pennell.

Two years ago, almost 600 Chinese migrants were caught trying to sneak into Canada on rusting, overcrowded ships off the West Coast