Two brothers drown while seal-hunting in Nunavut’s Admiralty Inlet: RCMP

People in Arctic Bay are mourning the loss of two men who drowned this past weekend in Admirality Inlet, about 25 nautical miles south of Arctic Bay.

The two men, brothers Tommy and Noah Kalluk, left the community July 28 to hunt for seals in a 21-foot boat, an RCMP news release said Aug. 1.

When the men didn’t return, air and water search teams set out later that day to look for them.

Early on July 29, a spot plane located a capsized boat in Admirality Inlet.

The Canadian Coast Guard vessel Terry Fox managed to recover the boat, where rescuers discovered the bodies of Tommy Kalluk, 42 and his brother Noah Kalluk, 46.

According to police, the initial investigation shows that the men’s vessel appeared to have encountered engine trouble, while they also fought high winds and ocean swells of up to 20 feet.

There were no floatation devices or emergency devices found at the scene.

Meanwhile, members of the brothers’ extended family who live in Iqaluit and the South are asking for help to allow them to travel to Arctic Bay to be with surviving family members.