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The smell of diesel filled the air as crews worked to recover a mostly sunken tugboat that may have spilled as much as 22,000 litres of the fuel in the Fraser River between Vancouver and Richmond on Monday night.

Canadian Coast Guard spokesman Dan Bate said it’s unknown what caused the George H. Ledcor tug to capsize around 10 p.m. Monday, just east of Vancouver International Airport.

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There were four people aboard and all were rescued by the crew of a nearby tug, Bate said.

The capsized vessel is part of a gravel tug-and-tow operation and was towing a gravel barge. The vessel was about three-quarters submerged and had been secured to pilings, Bate said.

Photo by DARRYL DYCK / THE CANADIAN PRESS

While the tug’s fuel capacity is 22,000 litres, he said crews are still assessing the total volume of the fuel spill.

It’s unclear what the impact of the spill will be on the the north arm of the salmon-bearing Fraser River.

“Right now it’s too early to see what that looks like, obviously it will depend on the quantities and actions that are taken,” Bate said.