Mariners killed in tug sinking mourned

As friends and relatives mourned two men who died when their tugboat sank in an eastern Newfoundland bay, the search and rescue squadron in Gander was defending the way it answered the distress call.

The Check-Mate III ran into trouble off Baccalieu Island at the mouth of Trinity Bay on Thursday night. The men on board radioed for help, but quickly had to abandon ship.

They appeared to be alive when a Cormorant helicopter arrived on the scene, but rather than attempt to hoist them up, the crew of the chopper decided to wait for a nearby Coast Guard vessel.

"It was determined by our crew that the best course of action would be to get the Coast Guard to come in on scene, assess how long that might take, and then carry on as required," said Maj. Jay Nelles, commanding officer of the Canadian Forces' 103 Squadron in Gander.

The men, identified as Larry Parsons, 69, of Lumsden, on Newfoundland's northeast coast, and Christopher Wade Oram, 32, of Badger's Quay, were dead by the time they were pulled from the water, officials said.

Both men were wearing survival suits. The Coast Guard has determined they had icy seawater in those suits.

Parsons had been mayor of Lumsden since last May. On Saturday, flags were flying at half-mast in the breeze outside the small community's town hall.

He was also a diesel mechanic and was hired to sail the tugboat to Nova Scotia.

Earlier this week, his family gathered to celebrate Parson's father's 95th birthday. The mayor's son, Glenn, said they're now devastated.

"I was expecting to see him last night after he got into St. John's. He was supposed to get a hold of me after he arrived in port. As you know it's a shock to everybody," he said.

Nearby in Badger's Quay, Christopher Wade Oram's relatives, including a wife and two young children, are also dealing with the loss. Oram was an engineer and lifelong seaman.

"He liked everything. He liked a lot of people and a lot of people loved him," said his father-in-law, Woody Kelloway, who watched the men sail away Thursday morning.

The 15-metre Check-Mate III sank on a voyage from Wesleyville, N.L., to St. John's, where it was going to be transferred to a new owner.

The vessel most recently was used between Nain and Voisey's Bay in northern Labrador.