Tour company Jamie’s Whale Watching Station, which had a previous fatal accident, says crew had no time to avert boat’s sinking off Vancouver Island
A Canadian whale-watching company has told how its crew had no time to react as their boat sank off Vancouver Island, killing five British passengers and leaving an Australian missing.
Rescuers pulled 21 people from the water alive and an Australian man, understood to be from Sydney, remained unaccounted for after the 65ft-long (20m) Leviathan II went down on Sunday afternoon.
The owner and staff of Jamie’s Whaling Station held a news conference on Monday in Tofino, on the island in British Columbia province, and said they were all traumatised by events.
Director of operations Corene Inouye said the boat had been operating normally on a route it had followed twice a day for the past 20 years.
Though she could not say what caused the boat to capsize, it happened so fast crew members were unable to send out a mayday signal and only managed to retrieve and release flares from the water.
Tofino is a fishing village and popular holiday destination famous for its whale watching, surfing and fishing as well as its proximity to natural hot springs and old-growth rainforest.
Inouye said the captain had over 20 years of experience, 18 of those at the company. The other two crew members were fully trained, she said.
Planes, helicopters and a flotilla of rescue boats rushed to the area on Sunday after the Leviathan II foundered. Acting Sub-Lieutenant Melissa Kai, of the Joint Rescue Co-ordination Centre in British Columbia, said a Royal Canadian Air Force Cormorant rescue helicopter was at the accident site within 30 minutes of the emergency call and three coastguard ships joined other local boats in a rescue attempt.
“Of the 27 individuals on the vessel when it sank, 21 were rescued,” Kai said. “Five were located without vital signs and one remains missing.”
Valerie Wilson, a spokeswoman for the Vancouver Island health authority, said 18 people were taken to Tofino hospital. All were in a stable condition. Three were later transferred to other hospitals while some others had been discharged.
Tour company owner Jamie Bray, visibly upset, said he was “absolutely amazed” at the support the company had received over the past 24 hours. He had been at a family birthday in Vancouver when he heard the news. “I was dumbfounded,” he said.
These are not the first deaths connected to Jamie’s Whaling Station tours. Two people died in March 1998 when the company’s boat Ocean Thunder was swamped by an unexpected wave in the same waters, Plover Reefs. The swell rolled the boat, throwing all the passengers into the water. One passenger and the operator of the boat drowned.
A Transportation Safety Board (TSB) investigation found that the operator “did not fully appreciate the conditions the boat would meet at the time of the accident in the turbulent waters in the vicinity of reefs”, and also criticised the lack of effective communication equipment, which resulted in a delay in initiating a rescue attempt.
An investigation was also launched in 1996 after the Jamie’s Whaling Station craft Sharp Point ran aground at full speed when the operator fell asleep at the controls. No one died but the operator was treated for head injuries.
Bray said on Monday that although the area in which the Leviathan II sank did have a current running through it, there was no indication that Monday’s sea was different from any other day.
The boat – which was licensed every year by Transport Canada – was carrying around 50 adult and 20 child lifejackets, plus three lifeboats, Bray said. He said passengers were not wearing lifejackets because Transport Canada advised against that when a vessel had an enclosed cabin because of the difficulty they could cause getting out in an emergency Bray said the Leviathan II had not lost power and was still in gear with its engine running when rescuers reached it.
Transport Canada confirmed that the boat, certified to carry a maximum of 46 passengers, had been inspected annually since 1998 and was last inspected on 6 March 2015. An investigation of the accident was under way, the transport authority said.
Justin Trudeau, Canada’s prime minister designate, said in a statement: “I was shocked and saddened to hear of the sinking of a whale-watching boat near the BC [British Columbia] coast and the passengers aboard who have lost their lives in the incident. We thank all those, including our search and rescue officials, who responded swiftly with courage and professionalism.
“I know firsthand of this coastal area’s natural beauty and the many people who visit here from all around the world. My thoughts and prayers are with the passengers, the crew, and their families at this most difficult time. We will continue to offer them support in the days ahead.”
Boats from the nearby Ahoushat First Nation joined the rescue effort, said aboriginal councillor Tom Campbell. He was on the waterfront and watched as rescue personnel brought several survivors ashore.
“Their looks tell the whole story,” he said by phone from Tofino. “You can’t describe looks on people that are lost. They look totally lost, shocked and lost.”
Campbell said his cousin pulled at least eight people from the water.
Philip Hammond, the British foreign secretary, said: “It is with deep sadness that I can confirm five British nationals have lost their lives when the whale-watching boat they were on sank off western Canada on Sunday.”
“My thoughts are with the family and friends of all those affected by this terrible accident. Consular staff in British Columbia are supporting the family members of those who have died and we will remain in close contact with Canadian authorities as further information becomes available.”