3 dead after fishing boat sinks off Vancouver Island coast

The Canadian Coast Guard has confirmed that three fishermen have perished just off the coast of Vancouver Island in Nootka Sound, just north of Tofino, after their fishing vessel sunk.

A total of four men on the vessel Caledonian were reported to be missing on Sunday morning. It is believed the vessel experienced issues late Saturday night at approximately 10 p.m. when it began to pull in its net haul.

The bodies of two men were recovered by a Coast Guard vessel and a third body was discovered by a Cormorant helicopter.

The fourth man on the vessel was found alive later in the day, with officials indicating he likely survived because he was the only fisherman on the vessel to wear a life vest.

The 1975-built vessel has a length of 26 metres, breadth of nine metres, and weighs 260 gross tons.

The Transportation Safety Board of Canada has issued a statement saying it has deployed an investigator to gather information and probe the incident.

One of the last satellite pings from the Caledonian prior to its sinking.

Image: Marine Traffic / Google Maps