CTV News has confirmed two fishermen are dead after a lobster boat capsized on the water off Inverness County early Saturday morning.

Nova Scotia RCMP say they received a 911 call at around 6 a.m. about a fishing vessel that had capsized less than 100 metres from the shore near Port Hood.

There are few details available at this time, but sources say a 30-foot lobster boat carrying three fishermen capsized near the community of Colindale, N.S.

"I would say a wave took it over. That's just the circumstances by the end of it there, where the boat is and the cabin all smashed off it and stuff," says D.F. Beaton, Chief of the Port Hood Volunteer Fire Department.

"There was a bunch of panic going on on the radio, people were calling people and trying to get back to him and we knew something was up," says fisherman Gary Watts.

Three men on board were thrown from the boat, and one of them was able to swim to shore.

"We seen one of the guys that was on the boat. He pulled two guys up on the beach, out of the water," says Watts.

Auxiliary Coast Guard and other boats in the area rushed to come to their aid, but attempts to resuscitate the other two men were unsuccessful.

RCMP have not released the identities of the men, but have confirmed their ages. The two men that died were the boat's 39-year-old captain and 58-year-old helper, while the man in hospital is 18-years-old. Sources tell CTV News that the 18-year-old was the son of the boat’s captain. All three men were from Cape Breton.

It’s believed the captain knew the waters well, as his home is within sight of this shoreline.

"It's a tricky spot, everybody knows it, but I mean, I go right there myself," says Watts.

The tragedy has been difficult for the small community, where everyone knows everybody else, especially the boat's captain.

"It's just been hard. He's on the fire department with me and it was just a pleasure to see him come in through the door at night, because you knew you were going to have a great laugh and lots of jokes and stories," says D.F. Beaton.

RCMP have also not released details on what caused the boat to capsize. Occupational Health and Safety officers from the N.S. Department of Labour are on scene of the incident and continue to investigate.

With files from CTV Atlantic's Dan MacIntosh.