A whale-watching accident on Sunday left five dead and one missing when a boat carrying 24聽passengers and three crew members capsized for unknown reasons near Vargas Island, about eight聽nautical miles west of聽Tofino, a town on聽Vancouver Island in聽British Columbia, Canada,聽.聽The weather was reportedly calm and clear.聽The cause of the accident has not yet been released.
The 65-foot-long聽boat made a mayday call before sinking.聽Local boaters聽and the Coast Guard were able to rescue 21 people. The British foreign secretary said in a statement that the five deceased were British nationals.
The boat belonged to聽Jamie鈥檚 Whaling Station, a local whale-watching company.聽The company had聽a fatal accident in 1998 after a smaller whale-watching聽vessel overturned, killing two people.
On the , owner Jamie Bray said he is cooperating with investigators to determine what caused the accident. 鈥淚t has been a tragic day,鈥 Bray wrote. 鈥淲e will provide further updates when information becomes available.鈥