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Woman alive, in hospital, after falling from ferry into sea near Tsawwassen

A woman was rescued from the chilly waters of Georgia Strait on Friday morning just as the Spirit of Vancouver Island was about to dock in Tsawwassen. The rescue operation resulted in the cancellation of the 11 a.m.
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The Spirit of Vancouver Island passes Berth #1 at the BC Ferries Swartz Bay terminal in this file photo. A woman fell from the ferry in Tsawwassen.

A woman was rescued from the chilly waters of Georgia Strait on Friday morning just as the Spirit of Vancouver Island was about to dock in Tsawwassen.

The rescue operation resulted in the cancellation of the 11 a.m. sailing from Swartz Bay to Tsawwassen and the 1 p.m. sailing from Tsawwassen to Swartz Bay.

The woman was flown to hospital from the Tsawwassen terminal, said B.C. Ferries spokeswoman Deborah Marshall.

The woman wasn’t identified and her condition was not known. She was a passenger on board the Spirit of Vancouver Island, which was en route from Swartz Bay.

Paul Tasker, with the Victoria Joint Rescue Co-ordination Centre, said the centre received a call of a person overboard about 8:30 a.m.

Accounts differed on what happened to the woman.

Tasker said she was seen by a fellow passenger falling from the vessel.

Marshall said passengers had reported seeing her standing outside on the top deck of the ferry. “I can confirm she didn’t fall,” Marshall said.

The ferry stopped and began a man-overboard operation. Ferries staff rescued her and she was taken back on board the vessel, Marshall said.

She said the incident happened as the ferry was approaching the terminal, so the vessel took her into the dock.

Paramedics then boarded the vessel and took the conscious woman to the waiting ambulance.

“We have procedures in place for man overboard and [staff] did a fabulous job,” Marshall said.

Two coast guard vessels and one auxiliary vessel also assisted in the rescue.

In January 2012, a 51-year-old man was reported missing by his family as the ferry was docking at Tsawwassen.

He was never found despite an extensive search of the area.

With file from The Province