Investigation underway after on-duty lighthouse keeper dies alone, west of Prince Rupert, B.C.

CBC News

· Posted: May 14, 2025 9:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 10 minutes ago

The Canadian Coast Guard and a national workers' bureau are investigating aft an on-duty lighthouse keeper died successful April astatine a presumption conscionable disconnected the seashore of northwestern B.C., astir 40 kilometres westbound of Prince Rupert.

The Triple Island Lighthouse presumption is expected to beryllium staffed by a main and adjunct lightkeeper astatine each times, but owed to a displacement change, the seashore defender says the antheral was unsocial erstwhile helium died.

The lighthouse is located connected the northwesterly stone of a radical of 3 islets known arsenic the Triple Islands and was built successful 1920 to usher marine postulation travelling northbound up B.C.'s seashore to Alaska, arsenic good arsenic for deepsea ships navigating to and from Prince Rupert. 

The distant presumption is lone accessible by helicopter. 

On the day of April 2, the seashore defender says it tried to interaction the lightkeeper aggregate times. Hearing thing back, it sent a adjacent chopper to behaviour a wellness cheque connected him.

When the aviator arrived, they recovered the lightkeeper unresponsive and called 911. B.C. Emergency Health Services arrived connected tract and pronounced the antheral dead. 

The RCMP and 2 members from the seashore guard's Prince Rupert presumption travelled to Triple Island earlier turning the substance implicit to Employment and Social Development Canada, the national section liable for moving conditions, for further investigation. 

The section volition beryllium investigating whether the Canadian Coast Guard is successful compliance with the Canada Labour Code. Under the Code, federally regulated employers indispensable support the wellness and information of each worker portion astatine work, and guarantee they person the indispensable information, grooming and supervision to execute their jobs safely.

WorkSafeBC has said that due to the fact that the incidental took spot astatine a national workplace, it is extracurricular of its jurisdiction. 

"This was a very, precise tragic lawsuit and precise bittersweet that it had to happen," said Jim Abram, a retired lighthouse keeper and erstwhile section president of the Union of Canadian Transportation Employees (UCTE), which represents lighthouse keepers.  

Lighthouse should person had 2 people, retired keeper says

Abram says the Triple Island Lighthouse Station is highly important for providing upwind observations for marine and aviation traffic, and is acrophobic that the lighthouse keeper was unsocial astatine the clip of his death. 

He says the presumption is staffed connected a rotational ground wherever 2 keepers volition enactment a 10- to 14-day displacement and past are replaced by 2 different keepers. 

"Remote isolated stations are not expected to beryllium staffed by a azygous person, truthful that has ever been the lawsuit arsenic agelong arsenic I've been a keeper," helium said. 

Abram says his knowing of what happened successful April is that erstwhile the 2 outgoing keepers were picked up during the displacement change, lone 1 keeper was dropped disconnected with the supplies. 

The seashore defender hasn't provided details connected wherefore the lighthouse keeper was unsocial astatine the clip of displacement change, but Abram is hopeful the probe volition shed much airy connected the circumstances surrounding the keeper's death. 

"In this situation, if determination are information measures that tin beryllium taken, if it was a information issue, past those information issues request to beryllium remedied by the seashore guard," helium said. 

"It's been highly devastating for the different 3 keepers. All of them person been highly distraught due to the fact that of this. Having idiosyncratic dice close determination connected your presumption is not a blessed event." 

UCTE's Pacific determination vice-president, Barry Tchir, says the national won't beryllium capable to marque a ceremonial remark until the probe is complete.

The Canadian Coast Guard says it expresses sincere condolences to the individual's family, friends and chap employees and volition proceed to enactment employees, arsenic good arsenic the family, during this hard time.