Mixups muddled Lady Duck rescue, inquest told

Confusion and miscommunication hindered rescue efforts in the sinking of the amphibious tour bus Lady Duck that killed four people in June 2002, a coroner's inquest heard Tuesday.

At the first day of the inquest, witnesses stated that Gatineau and Ottawa police, firefighters and paramedics had trouble communicating during the emergency.

Officials with the Gatineau police say emergency services from Gatineau and Ottawa plan to meet in April to start drafting a co-ordinated emergency plan for a major rescue effort, but it won't be ready for two years.

They say if a similar disaster happened now, it would likely end the same way.

The inquest is examining the response of emergency crews to the sinking of the Lady Duck, a converted Ford pickup truck that sank in the Ottawa River on June 23, 2002.

Doris Wong and her two children, five-year-old Tiffany Yu and 12-year-old Stephanie, died in the sinking. Sister Marielle Fallum of Ste. Agathe, Que., was also killed.

Eight people managed to make it to shore.