Tide kills periwinkle picker; another hurt

One man was killed and a second was hospitalized when they were caught by the tide while picking periwinkles off Grand Manan's Castalia Marsh on February 19. Sanjaya Gurung, 39, died, while his companion is recovering. The men were employed by Benson Lobster; both were from Nepal.

Grand Manan Fire Department Deputy Chief Dave Burgess says they got a call around 9:30 p.m. reporting people stranded in the water. The firefighters, who do "a little of everything" including frequent ambulance assists, were dispatched. Shortly after, he says, they got a call back that the men were out of the water but on the beach. Burgess says that when he arrived, along with seven or eight other firefighters, EMTs had found one man. He and others accompanied them across the rockweed to find the second on the rocks. With the tide coming in, more firefighters came in a skiff from the North Head wharf while responders performed CPR. The second man was taken to the wharf and then to the hospital; Burgess estimates the elapsed transport time at only 10 minutes.

On behalf of Benson Lobster, Casey Benson posted on a community Facebook page on February 20: "It is with heavy hearts that we share that a member of our Benson Lobster team tragically passed away. Another member of our team remains in stable condition. This has been a deeply difficult time for our employees, especially for those who came here from abroad to work and build a better future for their families. We are focused on supporting them through this loss."

The company is coordinating financial support for the affected families and established a GoFundMe for Gurung's family, who are "working on getting visas so they can come to Canada and take Sanjaya back to Nepal." The fundraiser had reached $11,800 of its $13,000 goal as of March 9.

For the second man, a co‑worker held a 50/50 fundraiser on Facebook, reporting that "he is far away from his family" and would be "unable to work for an extended, undetermined amount of time."

Periwinklers could be observed off Castalia Marsh and Bancroft Point on several evenings prior to the incident, with some a long way out. There are a number of ledges that can be cut off as the tide comes in around them across lower areas.

Burgess says it's possible that the men, who had difficulty with English, may not have understood friends' cautions about what time to come in. He thinks the alarm call might have come from one of those friends who noted they were overdue returning and went to look for them. "People don't understand the tides," he says, stressing the importance of knowing how fast they move and where unsafe areas may be.