News Digest

Survivor says Canada whale-watching boat was ‘capsized by a wave’

A whale-watching boat which sank off the Canadian coast killing five Britons was capsized by a wave, a survivor is reported to have said. An investigation is under way into what happened to the 20-metre vessel which overturned near Vancouver Island on Sunday, leaving a woman and four men aged between 18 and 76 dead. Some 24 passengers and three crew had been on board the Leviathan II - 21 of whom were rescued. A 27-year-old man from Sydney is still missing, according to Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

We just don’t understand and we won’t know the answers until the Transportation Safety Board finishes its investigations. This vessel has operated for 20 years with an absolutely perfect safety record - this is something totally out of the blue.

Jamie’s Whaling Station, a local tour company.

The boat, operated by Jamie’s Whaling Station, a local tour company, got into difficulty eight miles from the small town of Tofino. It has emerged the operator suffered another tragedy in the same spot in 1998 in which two people lost their lives. Questioned by journalists whether the cause could be the same as the tragedy 17 years ago, Mr Bray said: “The 1998 incident happened in a totally different type of vessel that was struck by a rogue wave and the passengers were thrown out. It’s a totally different scenario.”