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| Father and son dead in Canada whale boat sinking | Father and son dead in Canada whale boat sinking |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Two Britons who died when a whale-watching boat sank off the coast of western Canada have been named as a father and son from Swindon. | Two Britons who died when a whale-watching boat sank off the coast of western Canada have been named as a father and son from Swindon. |
| David Thomas, 50, and his son, Stephen Thomas, 17, were among five Britons who died. An Australian is missing. | |
| Stephen's mother Julie was among those rescued from Leviathan II. | |
| Officials have said more of the 27 people on board the boat could have died had it not been for the "amazing response" from locals around Tofino. | Officials have said more of the 27 people on board the boat could have died had it not been for the "amazing response" from locals around Tofino. |
| Canadian government investigators have now arrived at the scene, near Vancouver Island. | |
| The cause of the accident remains unknown but sea conditions at the time of the incident were said to be calm. | The cause of the accident remains unknown but sea conditions at the time of the incident were said to be calm. |
| Corene Inouye, director of operations at Jamie's Whaling Station and Adventure Centre, the company that owns the boat, said: "It appears the incident happened so quickly that the crew didn't have an opportunity to send out a Mayday." | Corene Inouye, director of operations at Jamie's Whaling Station and Adventure Centre, the company that owns the boat, said: "It appears the incident happened so quickly that the crew didn't have an opportunity to send out a Mayday." |
| She added the skipper of the ship has more than 20 years' whale-watching experience and had completed 18 years with the company. | She added the skipper of the ship has more than 20 years' whale-watching experience and had completed 18 years with the company. |
| Company owner Jamie Bray said passengers on the boat were not required to wear life jackets as it has enclosed compartments, which would be difficult to exit in the event of a sinking. | Company owner Jamie Bray said passengers on the boat were not required to wear life jackets as it has enclosed compartments, which would be difficult to exit in the event of a sinking. |
| 'Amazing response' | |
| Greg Louie, chief councillor of the Ahousaht First Nation Elected Council, told the BBC's Radio 4 Today programme that "possibly everyone" could have drowned or died of hypothermia had the local community not responded to the accident so quickly. | |
| The incident could have been "a lot worse", Lt Cmdr Desmond James of the Canadian Joint Rescue Co-ordination Centre in British Columbia said. | |
| He added that 21 people would not have been rescued were it not for the "amazing response" by locals. | |
| The British victims included another male tourist and two British nationals who lived in Canada - one woman from British Columbia and a man from Ontario, according to the British Columbia coroner's office. | |
| Australian Associated Press reported the missing 27-year-old Sydney man was on the boat with his girlfriend and her family when it sank. | |
| His girlfriend's father was among the five Britons confirmed dead, the news agency said. | |
| British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond said his thoughts were with the family and friends of those affected by Sunday's incident. | |
| Canadian prime minister-designate Justin Trudeau said he was "shocked and saddened" by the deaths. | |
| Whale watching off British Columbia |