The boat sank Sunday near Tofino, British Columbia, with 27 people on board.
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He was on board with his partner Danielle Hooker, whose father was among those who died in the accident. There were five fatalities and one person is still missing.
But Canadian police have said how in the heavy swell, and growing exhausted, Hooker was unable to save both herself and Pillay.
“A group of survivors fought to keep him afloat”. “The last thing they saw is him disappearing to the bottom”.
‘They let go or they just can’t hold him any more and he goes under. The TSB offers its condolences to the friends and families who lost loved ones in this accident.
Another wrote: “Please pray for my cousins [sic] Rav Pillay safe return to his family”.
Poisson said the investigation was examining whether there was a flaw in the design of the Leviathan II or if it had been modified in any way that would make it less stable and vulnerable to the wave that capsized it.
Preliminary findings from Transportation Safety Board investigators indicate most passengers were on the top deck when it was hit by a wave from the opposite side and rolled, sending all aboard into the water.
An Industry Canada profile of Jamie’s Whaling Station and Adventure Centres, which owns the vessel, states that the Leviathan II was “specifically designed for whale watching and features two glass bottom viewing ports”.
A single flare, shot from the water by a crew member, was the sole signal sent from the wreckage.
Fisherman from the nearby Ahoushat First Nation were the first to reach the scene.
Two sisters who survived the whale-watching tragedy are “fraught with grief” after their dad died on the ill-fated trip. Only one had a life jacket.
“I want to conclude by giving our most heartfelt thanks to the entire community for their efforts, those on water, those on land, and the people who opened their hearts and homes to feed and clothe those in needs”, she said.
Ahoushat aboriginal councillor Tom Campbell said he had watched from the waterfront as rescuers brought traumatised survivors ashore. “We always do. But don’t take us for granted”, Louie told the National Post.
“I’d be curious to find out if the vessel went through significant altercation, weight wise”, says Capt. Oxford.
A total of 21 people had been rescued, Lieutenant Commander Desmond James of the Coast Guard’s rescue centre in the provincial capital Victoria, told AFP.
Five of the victims were British, including Katie Taylor, 29, and Jack Slater, 76, who lived in Canada.
TOKYO A Japanese woman and her boyfriend were released after two decades of a life sentence on Monday after a court agreed there were serious questions about their guilt in the arson murder of her 11- year-old daughter.
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Earlier this month, a man suffered a broken leg when his whale watching tour boat capsized after a whale swam close to the boat causing a massive wave that flipped the boat.
