The disaster will be shrouded in mystery as Canada’s Transportation Safety Board said its investigation could take several months.
Advertisement
David Thomas was remembered by the Down Syndrome Association United Kingdom as a “huge supporter” of the organization, and “one of the driving forces behind the Swindon Down’s Syndrome Group, where he was a trustee”.
But the rules don’t require passengers to be wearing the flotation devices on larger boats with enclosed compartments, said Jamie Bray, owner of Jamie’s Whaling Station.
The Leviathan II was inspected annually since 1998, and last inspected on March 6, 2015, said Jillian Glover, a spokeswoman for Transport Canada.
The Leviathan II, a three-deck cruiser, was operated by Jamie’s Whaling Station and Adventure Centres. “My thoughts and prayers are with the passengers, the crew, and their families at this most hard time”.
Canada’s Prime Minister-designate Justin Trudeau said he was “shocked and saddened” by the deaths.
“The support and warmth they have provided since we’ve been here and to those affected has been really remarkable and I’d like to express my thanks to them for everything they’ve done to help those who were involved”, said British Consul General to Vancouver Rupert Potter in Tofino Tuesday.
Marc-Andre Poisson, the TSB’s director of marine investigations, said most of the passengers and crew were on the left side of the vessel’s top deck when it was hit by a wave. And five Hartley Bay residents are close to completing training as paramedics, Mr. Robinson said, adding to the community’s capacity to respond to emergencies involving residents or people on pleasure or other craft nearby. He asserted investigators have now interviewed the three crew members and a few of the passengers.
In the footage above, new video shot on Tuesday, you can see the capsized whale-watching boat Leviathan II – still in the water two days after it fatally flipped near Tofino. He said his cousin pulled at least eight people from the cold water onto a boat.
“The Ahousaht First Nation, the people of Tofino, the people who know this coast so well, when there was a crisis, when there were lives at risk, people stepped up and stepped in and saved lives”, Clark said, as she thanked the community. He was unresponsive, and tangled in a line.
One woman had a broken leg and he didn’t want to move her. He was also anxious he was running out of gas.
Posting to Facebook, one of his daughters called Michele Slater Brown said: “Our hearts are broken today, our father was one of the people who lost their lives on the whale watching tragedy in Tofino”.
“The lady was saying that a wave just capsized them”, Mr Smith said. “That’s why there weren’t any communications on the radio, no mayday”, Smith said.
It wasn’t the first fatal accident on the whale watching company’s record.
‘The vessel broached (tilted up and rolled) and then capsized.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police have sent an underwater recovery team to search for the missing man, with assistance from the Coast Guard and local search and rescue personnel.
Advertisement
Mr Slater was born in Salford, but is understood to have been living in Ontario, Canada, for many years.
