SouthShoreNow.ca

Lisa Brown
Lighthouse staff

 PEGGY'S COVE - The RCMP are warning pleasure boaters and fishermen to keep their distance from the crash site of Swissair Flight 111.

 The exclusion zone surrounding the site now measures just over 40 square kilometres. Charts depicting the boundaries are available at RCMP detachments in Chester and Tantallon, RCMP headquarters in Halifax, yacht clubs, marinas and marine suppliers.

 But after five intrusions into the exclusion zone two weekends ago - all inadvertent by boaters - the Mounties added yellow buoys at the four corners of the zone. They also organized a media boat tour May 6 to raise awareness of the need to stay clear of the area.

 "It's still there obviously because we're still recovering debris and it's still under investigation," RCMP spokesman Sgt. Wayne Noonan said Thursday. "Until the TSB tells us otherwise, we're going to still be there until we recover all of the aircraft."

The exclusion zone surrounding the crash site of Swissair Flight 111 is marked with yellow buoys and will remain closed to pleasure boaters and fishermen for the summer.

 All 229 people aboard Swissair Flight 111 died when the passenger jet crashed into the Atlantic September 2. Between 12 and 15 per cent of the downed aircraft remains on the ocean floor in about 200 feet of water. But the missing pieces include a large part of the cockpit area where investigators are concentrating their efforts.

 The research vessel Endeavour has been working at the site since early May. Using two remotely operated vehicles it recovered more than two metric tonnes of debris in its first seven days. After offloading, it returned to the site between Peggy's Cove and East Ironbound Thursday and re-established its moorings.

 Recovery operations are likely to continue until September. The Mounties will be policing the zone using boats and radar 24 hours a day, seven days a week. But they're asking people to make themselves aware of the co-ordinates and stay clear in order to make their jobs easier. Boats wandering inside the limits, either by chance or on purpose, distracts from the work that is being done.

 With a fortune in diamonds that was aboard Flight 111 still not recovered, police realize people may be curious.

 "They can be curious if they want, but they're not allowed in there. That's the bottom line as long as we're there," Sgt. Noonan said. "To us that's obstruction under the Criminal Code, if you're doing it intentionally, and you could face criminal charges.

 "We'll make sure that they're escorted out of there as soon as possible and, if they choose not to leave, that's a whole other story," he added.