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Family of downed boom-boat driver want answers to lingering questions

It’s been nearly a month since Ivor Lundin died while captaining Tolko’s boom-boat …
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Tolko (File Photo)

It’s been nearly a month since Ivor Lundin died while captaining Tolko’s boom-boat and his friends and family are still struggling to make sense of their loss.

“Of course we still don’t have a lot of answers about what happened, but as far as the recovery went, they just didn’t do enough,” said Lundin’s partner, Brenda.

When Ivor’s boat went down late Jan. 30, Brenda said she’s been told nobody went into the water to save him. Those who were at the scene waited until emergency crews showed up.

Then they just lowered a camera into the boat to confirm he was there.

“Ivor’s body was left in the water until noon the next day and that’s so unbelievable,” she said.

“He was close to shore, you could see the roof and lights from there. I’ve seen people put in more effort to save dogs from water.”

Although she admits she’s grief stricken, Brenda said she is raising the issue because Ivor deserved better.

“The whole thing is wrong, I’ve never seen anything like this in my life,” she said. “I know it will never bring him back, but they never made enough effort.”

Ivor, she said, was an amazing guy who was always willing to lend a hand to anybody who needed it.

“He was a humble, strong person,” she said. “He knew every aspect of the mill and all the boats and loved his work on the water.”

She said the 57-year-old volunteered for the city every year during the fireworks to take the barges out and he was very experienced on the water.

The last person Ivor spoke with was her son.

“He forgot his lunch and said the old boat had taken on some water, so he was going to bail it out,” she said. “He said that was normal. It was always treading water.”

There are multiple investigations into the sinking.

The Transportation Safety Board and WorkSafe BC are both looking into it.

The TSB said they will have more information in the next week, and are still in the process of assessing the evidence.

WorkSafe BC said they haven’t had a complaint about the Tolko boat in recent years.

In the days after the incident Don Hanson, communications manager at Tolko Industries, said that the mill’s focus is on Lundin’s family and the employees who were suffering from his loss.

“It’s devastating news for Tolko. We take safety very seriously. We are going to work closely with the authorities on the investigation and find out what happened.”