BC

Search and rescue officials in British Columbia are expected to wear black arm bands during a memorial service honouring two female colleagues killed during a training exercise.

Angie Nemeth and Beatrice Sorenson died June 3 when they were trapped under an inflatable boat that flipped in the Skookumchuck Narrows, a treacherous stretch of water about 120 kilometres northwest of Vancouver.

Randy Strandt of the Royal Canadian Marine Search and Rescue says the volunteer organization sought help from police and fire departments to plan today's memorial.

He says the service will be much like those held for fallen police and firefighters.

Local broadcaster Sean Eckford, who worked with Nemeth, says a high school gymnasium has been set up to handle about 1,000 people.

The Transportation Safety Board says a report on the accident is at least a year away, but confirms there was a problem with a self-righting mechanism on the boat.