October 22, 2014 — The father of the captain of the fishing vessel that sank off Campbell River said his son died a hero, trying to save his crewmates.
Barry Sewid, 34, and Mike Kelly, 29, both fathers of young children, are missing and presumed drowned after the 20-metre steel landing craft capsized five kilometres north of Campbell River just before 3 a.m. Saturday.
The sole survivor, Kyle Benoit, told his boss that Sewid called him up from the lower quarters as the boat was taking on water, and pushed him out the door of the wheelhouse, which likely saved his life.
The captain’s quick mayday call also triggered an immediate response from a nearby Alaskan ferry, which dispatched a Zodiac to pluck Benoit from the water.
“That’s the only thing that makes it a little better, that he was a hero,” said Sewid’s father, Norman Sewid. “He was always putting other people first. That’s the type of man he is.”
On Tuesday morning, Norman Sewid went to a lookout spot near the old Elk Falls mills to see if the waters were calm enough to allow RCMP divers to search the sunken boat, which is under 75 metres of water.
An underwater camera was able to locate one body in the vessel, but the waters were too rough for the divers to do a search.
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