CNN
(CNN) — A tour boat carrying 27 people has sunk off the coast of Vancouver Island, in the Canadian province of British Columbia.
“There are fatalities involved, and survivors,” the Joint Rescue Co-ordination Centre Victoria said in a recorded message on Sunday.
“We’re also conducting a search to confirm that we’ve recovered everybody,” the message said.
It was not immediately clear how many people survived.
The boat was a whale-watching vessel, according to the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. It cited a witness saying that the boat sank far enough from shore that it could not be seen.
“You could see the smaller boats going back and forth to try and help bring people back to shore,” Rami Touffaha told CBC. “The waters weren’t choppy so I don’t see what could have caused the boat to sink, but you never know in these waters unfortunately,” he said.
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