Four of the five Britons who died when a whale-watching boat capsized off the west coast of Canada on Sunday have been named.
Two were David and Stephen Thomas, a father and son from Swindon. The other two were named as Katie Taylor, 29 and Jack Slater, 76. Originally from Salford, Slater had lived in Canada for several years, reports said. His wife was reportedly on board the boat as well, but was rescued.
David Thomas, 50, and his son Stephen, 18, were among those killed when the Leviathan II boat was apparently capsized by a wave, according to the Swindon Advertiser.
The newspaper quoted Stephen’s brother, Paul Thomas, 22, a student, as the source. Paul Thomas said his mother, Julie, was also on board but survived with minor injuries. He planned to fly to Canada to be with his mother, the paper said.
Microsoft issued a statement paying tribute to David Thomas, who worked for the company. Michel Van der Bel, area vice-president and general manager at Microsoft UK, said: “We are shocked and saddened by the death of David Thomas, a Microsoft employee, and his son in the tragic boating accident in Canada.
“Our thoughts and deepest sympathies are with their family, friends and David’s colleagues and we will be doing everything we can to support them.”
Robert Buckland, MP for Swindon South, tweeted to say he had been in touch with the Foreign Office to get more information.
@swindonadver truly dreadful news from Canada. I have been in touch with the FCO to obtain more information.
— Robert Buckland MP (@RobertBuckland) October 27, 2015
Stephen, who was a keen photographer, posted some of his work on his blog called Stephen’s View, writing: “I am really interested in photography. I like taking pictures of flowers, landscapes and people.”
Paying a tribute to her father, Michele Slater Brown wrote on her Facebook page: “Our dad was larger than life, a charmer, handsome, entrepreneur, engineer in the Navy, he was 76 years old, he was our dad, our lovely dad, I will miss him forever but I’m grateful for all the times I spent with him, I love you dad.”
The Down’s Syndrome Association UK said in a statement David Thomas was a “huge supporter” of the organisation and “one of the driving forces behind the Swindon Down’s Syndrome Group, where he was a trustee”.
Stephen Thomas, who had Down’s syndrome, “was a very talented young man and a gifted photographer”, the association said in a statement.
“His love of photography started when he was eight years old. We were all delighted when Stephen’s beautiful image Moraine Lake won the national My Perspective photographic competition last year,” the association added.
His father, who had his own amateur photography website, described himself as a “committed Christian” who was “in constant awe at the wonders of God’s creation”.
Investigators from the Transportation Safety Board of Canada have begun their inquiry into what happened to the vessel, which overturned near Vancouver Island off the west coast of Canada.
Twenty-one people were rescued from the stricken vessel, which was carrying 24 passengers and three crew.
A 27-year-old man from Sydney is missing, according to Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. His girlfriend’s father was among the dead, Australian Associated Press reported.
Barbara McLintock, from the British Columbia coroner’s office earlier said the British victims included three male tourists and two British nationals who lived in Canada – one woman from British Columbia and a man from Ontario.
The boat, run by Jamie’s Whaling Station, a local tour company, got into difficulty eight miles from the small town of Tofino, about 150 miles west of Vancouver.
The company’s owner, Jamie Bray, said people were traumatised and in disbelief at what had happened. He said: “This vessel has operated for 20 years with an absolutely perfect safety record. This is something just totally out of the blue.
“We just don’t understand and we won’t know the answers until the Transportation Safety Board finishes their investigations.”
