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. 

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. 

A GoFundMe fundraiser has also been launched for MacKay's family 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 to 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 agency said 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 sunk at sea, said RCMP Cpl. Gregg Garrett.

The TSB said in a statement that the two fishing vessels involved were the Forever Chasin Tail and the Joel '98. It was the Joel '98 that sank.

'A very dangerous occupation'

The communities of Beach Point and Murray 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 village of 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."

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

Scott Herring is the pastor at Murray Harbour Baptist Church and has 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 for Belfast-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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