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Five clam diggers rescued after getting stranded in the Nanaimo River Estuary

Jan 9, 2017 | 10:56 AM

NANAIMO — Five people out clamming were stranded and then rescued late Sunday night in the Nanaimo River Estuary.

Two vessels from Royal Canadian Marine Search and Rescue in Nanaimo were called out around midnight, as well as a Coast Guard hovercraft from Vancouver.

A passing boater managed to pick up the five clam diggers just before the rescue vessels arrived, according to RCMP Const. Gary O’Brien.

O’Brien says they were suffering from various stages of hypothermia and transferred onto the rescue boats. He says four of the five were sent to Nanaimo Regional General Hospital.