The Royal Canadian Mounted Police sent an underwater recovery team to search for the missing person, with assistance from the Coast Guard and local search and rescue personnel.
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Eight people are alive because she and her husband were there to pull them out of the cold waters off the British Columbia coast when a whale-watching boat, with 27 people on board, capsized.
British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond confirmed in a statement that the five killed were Britons.
Poisson said that with most passengers on the left side of the boat, “this would have raised the center of gravity, affecting the vessel’s stability”.
“We know that most passengers were on the top deck on the port side, that’s the left side of the vessel”, he said. “We know that the vessel broached and then capsized”. He said he’s had minimal contact with the crew and is cooperating with investigators to determine what caused the boat to flip over.
Caral Martin, 60, who, along with his son and nephew pulled three lifeless bodies out of the water also described the water there as “rough” and said that it had been sailing “really close to the rocks”.
He added that the findings of the coroners’ investigation – which could take a year – will be made public through a report or an inquest. While in Tofino, he met with relatives of those who died.
Dozens of people from the small sea-side town attended a potluck dinner at the community hall Monday night.
The Down’s Syndrome Association paid tribute to the teenager, describing him as a “very talented young man” and a “gifted photographer”, while his father was a “huge supporter” of the charity.
“His love of photography started when he was eight years old. We were all delighted when Stephen’s attractive image “Moraine Lake” won the national “My Perspective” photographic competition previous year”, said Boys in a statement. “My thoughts and prayers are with the passengers, the crew, and their families at this most hard time”.
Microsoft United Kingdom 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.
Stephen’s brother, Paul Thomas, a 22-year-old University of Nottingham student, was flying out to Canada to be with his mother who is in hospital with minor injuries, the Swindon Advertiser reported.
“Our dad was larger than life, a charmer, handsome, entrepreneur, engineer in the Navy, he was 76 years old, he was our dad, our lovely dad, I will miss him forever but I’m grateful for all the times I spent with him, I love you dad”. “The waters weren’t choppy so I don’t see what could have caused the boat to sink, but you never know in these waters unfortunately”, he said.
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 company’s director of operations, Corene Inouye, said the crew shot flares from the water which attracted the attention of local aboriginal fishermen who rushed to help rescue 21 people.
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Clark, the B.C. premier, said she was horrified and heartbroken when she heard about the capsized boat but she’s proud of the way British Columbians came together to help. “That’s why there weren’t any communications on the radio, no mayday”, Smith said.
