A motorhome that has been upside down in the Similkameen River since the end of July was finally pulled out on Saturday.
In an update sent out yesterday evening, the Upper Similkameen Indian Band (USIB) and Lower Similkameen Indian Band (LSIB) announced the successful retrieval of the destroyed camper.
“The vehicle recovery has been completed, but environmental measures and monitoring will have to stay in place for at least 24-48 hours, if not longer. Further evaluation will determine those timelines,” stated the update.
“Those passing by the site of the incident (700 block of Hwy 3 East) will notice environmental booms are still in the water in order to contain the fluids that leeched from the vehicle, and were disturbed by the operation to remove the vehicle.”
The two bands added that they still have a limited understanding as to what caused the recovery of the vehicle to stagnate.
According to a press release from Friday, the incident happened on July 26, and police called for a tow company to remove the vehicle, but it remained in the river until Saturday, with the USIB and LSIB only recently becoming aware of the situation.
“As investigations progress further, we will share the information with our neighbours, our communities, and our neighbouring governments, and we will be asking the hard questions that need to be asked in order to prevent a recurrence of any similar incidents,” added the Saturday night update.
The highway was slowed down to single-lane alternating traffic for a portion of the day as crews worked to retrieve the motorhome.
