Australian man among Canada boat victims

Australian man among Canada boat victims

A young Australian man is missing feared dead after a whale-watching boat sank off the Canadian coast.

AAP has been told by the family of a Sydney man, 27, that he was on the boat with his girlfriend and her family when it went down near Vancouver Island on Monday.

Her father was one of five British citizens confirmed dead.

The parents of the missing Sydney man were desperately trying to arrange an emergency passport on Tuesday to travel to Canada.

The Department of Foreign Affairs said it was providing consular assistance to the family.

Five people have been confirmed dead and one missing after the whale-watching boat carrying 27 sank off Canada’s Pacific coast.

A total of 21 people have been rescued after Sunday afternoon’s disaster near Vancouver Island, the Coast Guard in the provincial capital Victoria said.

Leviathan II was off the resort town of Tofino when a distress call was received saying the boat was sinking.

The 20-metre three-deck vessel is owned by Jamie’s Whaling Station and Adventure Centres of Tofino.

For unknown reasons, the ship capsized in waters less than 10 metres deep, but its bow remained visible above water.

Several lifejackets and personal effects such as handbags and clothing could be seen floating nearby.

A number of boats converged at the site to help the Coast Guard with its search effort.

“The response here has been nothing short of phenomenal, the way that people are bringing out blankets and clothing and food, donating what they can and offering all of the services that they have,” Tofino Mayor Josie Osborne told broadcaster CTV.

Canada’s federal Transportation Safety Board (TSB) has announced it is sending investigators.

Tofino is a popular surfing and whale watching town near the Clayoquot Sound UNESCO Biosphere Reserve.

Jamie’s Whaling Station, one of the area’s largest tourist boat outfitters, was hit by another deadly tragedy in 1998.

According to TSB records, two of the four people aboard a whale-watching ship, Ocean Thunder, died after a “large swell wave struck the boat from the port side”.

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