Justin MacKay, 20, identified as weekend boat crash victim - Action News
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PEI

Justin MacKay, 20, identified as weekend boat crash victim

Justin MacKay, 20, has been identified as one of two victims in a boating accident in which two boats collided in the waters off southeastern P.E.I. Saturday morning.

GoFundMe page launched for MacKay's family to cover funeral costs

20-year-old Justin MacKay died in a boating accident off Beach Point, P.E.I., on Saturday. (Ferguson-Logan Funeral Home)

Justin MacKay, 20, has been identified as one of two victims in a boating accident in which two boats collided in the waters off southeastern P.E.I. Saturday morning.

A notice on the Ferguson-Logan Montague Funeral Home has been posted. He is the son of Tammy Crossman and Barclay MacKay and had six siblings.

We are all in shock, the whole community. Darlene Compton

The funeral home lists visiting hours Wednesday from 4 to 8 p.m. with a funeral on Thursday at 4 in the funeral home chapel, followed by burial in the Murray River Cemetery. The notice suggests donations to the IWK.

AGoFundMefundraiser has also been launched forMacKay'sfamily by a friend, to help out with funeral costs.

'Inspecting for compliance'

The accident off Beach Point, P.E.I., is being investigated by the Transportation Safety Board and Transport Canada, as well as the P.E.I. Department of Labour and the RCMP,a Transport Canada spokesperson wrote in an email toCBC.

The sign outside the Murray Harbour Community Centre had been changed by Saturday evening to reflect the community's loss. (Jane Robertson/CBC)

"Transport Canada is inspecting for compliance with applicable laws and will not hesitate to take appropriate actions should any safety or regulatory deficiencies be identified during the course of the inspection," the statement said.

The Transportation Safety Board has sent a team of investigators to P.E.I.

Occupational health and safety officers on P.E.I. are also investigating. In a statement the agencysaid they will investigate, "what was done to protect the occupational health and safety of all workers on the fishing vessels."

One of the boats returned to harbour after the crash and the other has since sunkat sea, saidRCMPCpl. Gregg Garrett.

TheTSBsaidin a statementthatthe two fishing vessels involved werethe ForeverChasinTailand theJoel '98. It was the Joel '98 that sank.

'A very dangerous occupation'

The communitiesof Beach Point andMurray Harbour and the surrounding areas in Eastern P.E.I.are still in shock.

"Things are still fresh and a lot of people are hurt,"said Garry Herring, mayor of the villageof Murray Harbour. "My son ...is the baptist minister here. He said that it's a sense of devastation and how people are getting through this is they are calling each other on the phone or they are visiting each other in groups and people are talking it out."

The investigation will be centred around the harbour nearest the collision at Beach Point, P.E.I. (Jane Robertson/CBC)

"I think this community here has had different tragediesin the past and they pull together," Herring said.

Scott Herring is thepastor at Murray Harbour Baptist Church andhas been consoling those in need of support in the area.

"We are trying our best to just encourage people to remain calm and dwell upon looking ahead to the next moment."Herring said they have also been receiving words of support from other Maritime provinces during this difficult time.

"It is a very dangerous occupation and I think that we are reminded of the unknowns," he added.

"I think that we are all in shock, the whole community," said Darlene Compton the MLA forBelfast-Murray River. "Fishing plays a huge role in this area and this tragedy touches everybody." Compton said she is also thinking about the first responders who likely knew the victims.

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With files from John Robertson