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MACKENZIE DELTA - The town of Inuvik was rocked by tragedy last week when two people died in a boating accident in the Mackenzie River. Two others are thought to be dead.

Five people in a 16-foot aluminum Lund were headed to a whaling camp on Kendall Island when they were swamped by high waves. Only a 12-year-old boy aboard is suspected to have made it to shore alive.

"According to the fellow that got him, he was simply sitting there," RCMP Staff Sgt. Bill Eubank said of the boy. "They walked up and the young fellow just waved and to (the searcher's) surprise he very politely asked if he could have a ride back to Inuvik. He was obviously in shock but he has been doing very well."

The boy is now with family members in Inuvik. Family has requested that names of the victims not be released because of many family members who had not yet been notified of the tragedy.

The bodies of the survivor's mother and sister were found in the water by members of the search and rescue team. Two men who were in the vessel are presumed drowned.

On Sunday morning, Eubank said after a 48-hour rescue effort, the focus is now on recovery rather than rescue.

According to the survivor, the boat was swamped at the junction of Reindeer Station and Middle Channel.

"The information we have is that it was literally a catastrophic sinking. And while we know from the young boy that the mother and the daughter survived the initial sinking and were seen by the survivor after the sinking, the males were never seen after the sinking," said Eubank.

He said the group left their half-way camp at about 3:00 p.m. on Wednesday, July 23 and according to the survivor, the boat was swamped within two hours of leaving the camp.

"It's like hitting a big lake in the middle of a river, and of course we don't have high tree coverage up there. Nothing to break the wind. All the sudden you hit wind and waves in a small boat, and it's disaster," said Eubank.

It is believed that most of the passengers were not wearing life-jackets when the boat was swamped, Eubank said.