Summary Five Britons have died after a whale-watching boat carrying 27 people capsized near Vancouver.
VANCOUVER (AFP) - Five Britons have died and a sixth person was missing feared dead after a whale-watching boat carrying 27 people capsized near Vancouver Island off Canada s Pacific coast.
The search and rescue operation was called off Monday after 21 survivors were plucked from the water, Lieutenant Commander Desmond James of the Coast Guard s rescue center in the provincial capital Victoria, told AFP.
A Royal Canadian Mounted Police dive team later took over, scouring the ocean bed and the rugged coastline nearby for any sign of the missing sixth person, who has yet to be identified.
But officials admitted there was little chance the passenger would be found alive, almost 24 hours after the Leviathan II sent out a distress call to say it was sinking.
"We still remain hopeful, but we have to assume the worst," said RCMP Corporal Janelle Shoihet.
In London Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond said the four men and a woman who perished in the capsize were all British citizens.
"My thoughts are with the family and friends of all those affected by this terrible accident," Hammond said in a statement.
Two of the victims were Canadian residents while the other three were tourists, said the British Columbia coroner s office. They were aged 18 to 76, it added.
The Leviathan II went down some 12 kilometers (seven miles) off Tofino, a resort town on the western edge of Vancouver Island.
Owned by Jamie s Whaling Station and Adventure Centres, the 20-meter (65-foot) cruise vessel was reportedly out on one of its last tours of the season, which ends October 31.
For reasons yet unknown, the ship capsized in waters less than 10 meters (33 feet) deep, its bow remaining visible above water. Locals told Canadian media the vessel may have hit rocks.
Canada s federal Transportation Safety Board was sending investigators to the scene.
Lifejackets, handbags, clothing and other personal effects could be seen floating nearby.
A number of boats converged at the site to help the Coast Guard with its search effort, including several from the Ahousat aboriginal community, with one taking eight people aboard, according to an account in the Vancouver Sun newspaper.
Eighteen people were hospitalized, several suffering from hypothermia, media said.
"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.
"Tofino s thoughts and prayers are with passengers, crew, emergency responders and their families. Thank you all for your messages of support," she wrote on Twitter.
An employee who answered the phone at Jamie s Whaling Station said the company was focused on the passengers and crew.
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 a deadly tragedy once before 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."
