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McDonald Beach Park partially re-opens after tug recovery

The George H. Ledcor was pulled from the Fraser River Thursday night.

The City of Richmond has re-opened most of McDonald Beach Park after closing it while crews recovered a sunken tug boat from the north arm of the Fraser River.

The general park and boat launch were opened to the public Friday afternoon. But the beach and off-leash dog area remain closed while workers conduct environmental assessments.

The park closed Tuesday over concerns of fuel contamination in the dog area and to let the Canadian Coast Guard use the boat launch. An unknown amount of diesel spilled from the tug’s 22,000-litre capacity tank when it capsized Monday.

It was pulled from the water Thursday night, and officials are still trying to determine what caused it to capsize and how much fuel spilled.

The four crew members were safely rescued from the sinking vessel.