Britons killed after whale boat sinks off Vancouver Island

Investigators are trying to unravel the mystery of what caused a whale watching boat with 27 people on board to capsize off Vancouver Island in seemingly calm weather, killing five British nationals and leaving an Australian man missing. “Fortunately, we did manage to rescue 21 people”.

On Sunday, five ambulances were dispatched and several off-duty paramedics went to the dock to help, said Jenn Hamilton, a spokeswoman for British Columbia Emergency Health Services.

“My thoughts are with the family and friends of all those affected by this awful accident”.

A 27-year-old man from Sydney is missing, Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said.

She was unable to confirm the dead men and women’s ages apart from that there were adults aged between 18 and 75.

A boat carrying divers sits beside the capsized whale-watching boat.

The company’s owner Jamie Bray said people were “traumatised” and in “disbelief” at what had happened.

On its website, Jamie’s Whaling Station says it offers tours in Tofino and Ucluelet on “state of the art high-speed, exhilarating zodiac-style vessels” for those who crave adventure, or, it adds, who wish to “relax aboard the west coast’s largest cruiser style whale watching vessels, the 65ft Leviathan II in Tofino or Lady Selkirk in Ucluelet”.

Three of the most seriously injured were taken to larger hospitals on Vancouver Island.

The company’s owner Jamie Bray said: “We just don’t understand and we won’t know the answers until the Transportation Safety Board finishes its investigations”. He said the investigation could take months.

It wasn’t the first fatal accident on the whale watching company’s record.

In 1998 one of its vessels capsized during an excursion, sending all four people on board into the water.

Another seaman, Lance Desilets, who is a fishing guide out of Tofino, said when he got out to the boat there were a dozen boats already there pulling folks out of the water.

But, while mourning the lost lives, many in Tofino were marvelling that the remainder of the 24 passengers and three crew survived after the Leviathan II went down about 15km (nine miles) from the town.

Prime Minister-designate Justin Trudeau and B.C. Premier Christy Clark expressed their condolences.

According to MSN News today, the rescue effort came together quickly with the Canadian military, Coast Guard, fishermen and mariners from a nearby Aboriginal community all taking part. Coverall suits aren’t required on “certified passenger vessels”, but they’re supposed to be safer, Spears said.

She said the vessel was last inspected March 6, 2015.

“Everybody’s heart is just breaking for what’s going on here and wanting to be as helpful as possible”, Josie Osborne said in a telephone interview late Sunday. This is an area that is known to get really rough, but it didn’t have rough water on Sunday, said Martin.

“It wasn’t even blowing hard”, he said.

“I could see debris floating out of the cabin, the windows, door was slamming open and shut, and like cushions from seats and cushions from… inside the boat were floating out of the boat”, he said.