BC

A 14-metre pleasure boat has collided with a moored sailboat in Vancouver's English Bay and one of the vessels is taking on water.

A coast guard vessel was quickly on the scene of the pre-dawn incident, not far off Kitsilano Beach.

Two people were able to get off the 14-metre boat and it's believed no one was aboard the anchored sailboat.

Within an hour of the collision, the pleasure boat was partially submerged and strong winds could complicate efforts to keep it afloat.

The incident may also add fuel to the controversy over federal government plans to close the nearby Kits coast guard base.

Critics of the cost-cutting measure argue the closure could cost lives because English Bay, Howe Sound and parts of the southern Georgia Strait covered by the base are among the busiest waterways in Canada. (News1130, CKNW)