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Tofino tragedy 1 year later

Entire communities have been honoured, individuals cited for heroism and boats blessed, but one year after the sinking of a whale-watching vessel off British Columbia that tossed 27 people into the churning Pacific, the wounds have barely started to heal.

Five Britons and one Australian died on Oct. 25, 2015, when the 20-metre Leviathan II capsized in waters near Tofino, about 320 kilometres northwest of Victoria.

The cause of the tragedy remains under investigation. The Transportation Safety Board of Canada is expected to release its report next year.

In the days immediately following the sinking, TSB investigators said most passengers and crew were on the top deck of the vessel’s port side, when a wave hit the starboard side. The vessel tilted up, rolled and capsized, said the TSB.

Survivors described being thrown into the ocean without life jackets, grabbing hold of a single life ring that floated in the waves.

Others expressed their fear at being in the bottom of the sinking boat and thrown about like laundry in a washing machine.

Rescuers from the nearby First Nations village of Ahousaht raced to help in boats after seeing a single emergency flare.

Families of those who died say the pain of their loss hasn't faded.

"I feel just as sad today as I did last year," said Michele Slater Brown of Milton, Ont., whose father Jack Slater, 76, a British national living Toronto, died in the sinking.

"This has affected me more than any other single event ever in my life."

Brown said she will not be in Tofino on Tuesday for a ceremony to honour the victims one year after the sinking. Relatives and loved ones of the other victims are expected to attend the ceremony, which includes unveiling a plaque.

David Thomas, 50, and his 18 year-old son Stephen, both from Swindon, England; Katie Taylor, a 29-year-old Briton living in Whistler, B.C., and 63-year-old Nigel Hooker of Southampton, England, also died in the sinking. Surfers found the body of Australian tourist Raveshan Morgan Pillay, 27, weeks after the boat capsized.

Survivor Dwayne Mazereeuw, 36, of Calgary, described how he and his wife Elisa, 34, survived by clutching a life ring for more than 30 minutes in frigid waters before being pulled to safety by rescuers.

Mazereeuw, a skate-park designer, helped mount an effort to build a skate-park in Ahousaht for the village's at-risk youth to repay those who saved him and his wife. The park's ground-breaking ceremony is set for Monday.

Ahousaht Deputy Chief Patti Campbell said the park is generating excitement in a community where many are still recovering from the sinking even though band members have been called heroes.

"Some of them have reached out for help," she said. "Some of them ended up a little bit fearful of the water. But we need the water to get to and from town and it's a fear they had to adjust to quickly."



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