A fire on board their sailboat is likely what led to the remains of two sailors being washed ashore Sable Island, early last summer.
That’s according to an investigation completed by the Transportation Safety Board (TSB).
“One crew member was wearing a flotation suit that had fire damage. The suit was melted on the left side, top to bottom. The fire damage had occurred while the crew member was wearing the suit; it would not have been possible to don the suit in the damaged condition.”
TSB says the suit was the only item damaged by fire.
It was June 20 when the vessel, Theros departed from Halifax on its way to the Azores, Portugal but was reported missing to the Joint Rescue Coordination Centre, eight days later.
The centre, who was unable to locate the vessel, then informed authorities they were missing and reached out to other boats in the area to see if anyone had seen it.
On July 10, the remains of a 70-year-old man and 54-year-old woman from British Columbia were found in a lifeboat on Sable Island, off the coast of Nova Scotia.
According to several reports they are identified as Brett Clibbary and Sarah Packwood – TSB says they were experienced sailors.
Theros remains missing.
TSB says there was also a commercial tanker in the area and looked into whether or not the vessel could have collided with it, but at this point there is no solid connection.
