Survivor recalls whale boat horror
A survivor of the Canadian whale-watching boat tragedy that killed one Australian and five British sightseers has recalled the horror of suddenly being tossed into frigid waters.
Dwayne Mazereeuw, 36, and his wife Elisa, 34, were enjoying their first weekend getaway together since the births of their young children when they found themselves fighting for their lives.
Mr Mazereeuw told The Canadian Press how the 27 passengers and crew were viewing sea lions on rocks off the west coast of Vancouver Island on October 25 when a wave struck the 20 metre long Leviathan II vessel.
“I remember looking over to the right side of the boat and seeing a fairly large wave coming but didn’t think a whole lot of it,” he said.
“We were on a pretty big boat and would never have expected anything like that.”
As the boat tipped he tried to hold on as others were flung into the water, but he also quickly found himself in the water and underneath the sinking boat.
Mr Mazereeuw swam to the surface, clung to a life ring with another survivor, but didn’t know where his wife was.
Then he heard what he thought was a male crew member with his wife yelling out his name.
She was able to swim over and latch onto the life ring, but they were still not safe as waves crashed over them and the water was bitterly cold and coated with oil and diesel.
A rescue flare was fired off, alerting rescuers, who eventually pulled the Mazereeuws and other survivors to safety 30 minutes to an hour after the boat flipped.
Raveshan Pillay, 27, an electrician from Sydney, was missing until his body was discovered by surfers last week washed up on a nearby beach.
Mr Pillay was holidaying with his British girlfriend Danielle Hooker, who survived, although her father Nigel was also killed.
Canadian authorities continue to investigate.
Email the Travel Weekly team at traveldesk@travelweekly.com.au
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