2 dead after boat sinks in waters northwest of Tofino, B.C.

Two people are dead and another three are in stable condition after their 8.5-metre-long catamaran sank in the waters northwest of Tofino, B.C., off Vancouver Island.

A distress call came in around 1:20 p.m. PT on Sunday. According to the Joint Rescue Centre in Victoria, five people were in the wateruntil 2:50 p.m. off Bartlett Island near Vargas Island, which is northwest of Tofino.

It could not confirm if the victimswere wearing survival suits or life jackets.

Sub-lieutenant Melissa Kiaofthe rescue coordination centre said the maydaycall came from a person aboardthe vessel.

Moderate to rough seas

The person who made the call saidthevessel was taking on water and those aboard were abandoning it.

Kia said the waters off BartlettIsland were described as moderate to rough, with average water temperatures between eight and 10 degreesthis time of year.

Pilots from theAtleo River Air Service, along with pilots fromTofino Air, flew planes to the area to look for the victims. The pilotswere the first to spot them.

"We had an airplane that was doing tours and we postponed the tour and went out," said Jason Bertin, operations manager for AtleoRiver Air Service.

A helicopter and plane also flew to the site from CFBComox. The Canadian Coast Guard dispatched vessels to help as well.

The victims were rescued minutes laterby two privately-owned boats, Kia said.

Survivors cold but stable

Coast Guard spokespersonDan Bate said the boats linked up with the coast guard, and anoff-duty paramedic provided CPR to one passenger while a Coast GuardRescue Specialist tried to resuscitate another.

He says all five people were taken toshore Sunday afternoon, but health officials later confirmed thattwo of them had died.

Bate said the other three passengers were cold but in stablecondition on Sunday evening.

Bate saidin a release that the catamaran was a, "fishing vessel engaged in halibut fishing off Bartlett Island."

The catamaran has not been recovered, said Kia. It might not be, depending on the depth of water where it went down, she added.

She said the rescue coordination centredoes not know the cause of the sinking.

Bertin said the vessel was located in waters "very close" towhere the whale watching vessel Leviathan II capsized in October2015 with 27 people on board. Six people died in that incident.