TOFINO, British Columbia (AP) — Investigators are trying to unravel the mystery of what caused a whale watching boat to capsize off Vancouver Island in seemingly calm weather, killing five British nationals including a father and his teenage son. A fisherman who was among the first rescuers on the scene offered a clue, saying a survivor told him that a sudden wave capsized the boat.
A search continued for a missing Australian man. Twenty-one people were rescued.
Two of the victims were identified Tuesday as David Thomas, 50, and his 17-year-old son Stephen, from Swindon in southern England.
The Down Syndrome Association UK said in a statement David Thomas was a “huge supporter” of the organization and “one of the driving forces behind the Swindon Down’s Syndrome Group, where he was a trustee.”
Stephen Thomas, who had Down Syndrome, “was a very talented young man and a gifted photographer,” the association said in a statement.
“His love of photography started when he was eight years old. We were all delighted when Stephen’s beautiful image Moraine Lake won the national My Perspective photographic competition last year,” the association said.
“All of our thoughts and condolences are with the Thomas family at this terrible time,” the group added.
Microsoft UK said David Thomas was an employee. “Our thoughts and deepest sympathies are with their family, friends and David’s colleagues and we will be doing everything we can to support them,” the company said.
Investigators will review the weather, wreckage and the maintenance history of the 20-meter (65-feet) Leviathan II to determine why it capsized Sunday afternoon, said Marc Andre Poisson, Director of Marine Investigations for Canada’s Transportation Safety Board. He said the investigation could take months.
A senior employee of Jamie’s Whaling Station, the company operating the boat, said the vessel sank so quickly the crew didn’t have time to issue a mayday call. The crew shot flares from the water which attracted the attention of local aboriginal fishermen who rushed to help rescue people, said Corene Inouye, the company’s director of operations.
The boat capsized about eight nautical miles (14.7 kilometers) off Tofino, a popular destination for whale watchers.
Fisherman Clarence Smith said he was reeling his lines for halibut when his friend saw a flare shoot in the sky. They raced to the scene in their small boat, and saw people in life rafts, in the water, and on rocks. They first helped a man who was clinging to the side of the boat, taking eight minutes to get him on board. He was unresponsive, and tangled in a line.
Then they rescued two women who were clinging to each other, and finally got 10 people on the life raft onto their boat. Among those they picked up were a pregnant woman and a woman with a broken leg.
“The lady was saying that a wave just capsized them. That’s why there weren’t any communications on the radio, no mayday,” Smith said.
Jamie Bray, the owner of Jamie’s Whaling Station, said the boat sank in an area it goes to every day. He said he’s had minimal contact with the crew and is cooperating with investigators to determine what caused the boat to flip over.
“This vessel has operated for 20 years with an absolutely perfect safety record. This is something just totally out of the blue,” Bray said. “We just don’t understand and we won’t know the answers until the Transportation Safety Board finishes their investigations.”
“We’re all traumatized,” Bray said, his voice shaking.
He said the passengers are not required to wear life jackets on larger ships like the Leviathan II.
One of the company’s boats also had a fatal accident in 1998. The vessel capsized during an excursion, leaving an operator and a passenger dead. Bray said that vessel was struck by a rogue wave but said the latest incident involved a much larger boat.
Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade on Tuesday confirmed that an Australian man was missing. Australian Associated Press reported that the 27 year-old Sydney man’s family said he was on the boat with his girlfriend and her family when it sank. His girlfriend’s father was among the dead, AAP said.
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Hainsworth reported from Vancouver. Associated Press writers Rob Gillies in Toronto, Sylvia Hui in London and Rod McGuirk in Canberra, Australia, contributed to this report.
