Three people are dead after a serious crash on Seton Lake near Lillooet early yesterday morning.

Police say just before 2 a.m. yesterday, June 27, someone on the beach called 911 to report that he heard a powerboat pass by followed by the sound of a loud bang.

“Hampered by the darkness, the civilian complainant estimated that the marine incident had been unfolding approximate one kilometer off shore of Seton Lake,” RCMP Southeast District spokesperson Cpl. Jesse O’Donaghey said, in a statement.

O’Donaghey noted RCMP and Search and Rescue volunteers were preparing to deploy at first light. Just after 7 a.m., he says, another boater in the area found a partially capsized boat and the bodies of two men and a woman in the water.

“With the assistance of the Seton Fire Department, Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada and search and rescue personnel the wreckage and three deceased individuals were recovered from the crash site,” O’Donaghey said

The identity of the victims will not be made public though police say their families have been notified.

The crash is being investigated by the Lillooet RCMP, in consultation with the RCMP West Coast Marine Services and the BC Coroners Service.

“The investigation into this tragic incident is in its very early stages,” O’Donaghey added. “The RCMP will share its findings with the BC Coroners Service who is carrying out its own investigation into the unexpected deaths of each of the deceased.”