TOFINO, B.C. — All five people who died after a whale watching ship sank off the west coast of Vancouver Island were British nationals, Britain’s Foreign Office confirmed Monday.

“My thoughts are with the family and friends of all those affected by this terrible accident,” British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond said in a statement, adding that consular staff in B.C. are supporting the family members of those who died.

The tour boat with 24 passengers and three crew members on board capsized on Sunday afternoon about 15 kilometres northwest of Tofino, B.C.

First responders managed to rescue 21 passengers, some of them injured. The search for one person who was still missing was called off Sunday night and the RCMP was handling it as a missing-person case.

Boats from the nearby Ahousaht First Nation that answered the ship’s mayday call on Sunday around 4 p.m. found it partially submerged.

Ahousaht First Nation Coun. Tom Campbell was on the Tofino waterfront and watched as rescue personnel brought several of the survivors ashore.

“Their looks tell the whole story,” he said by telephone from Tofino. “You can’t describe looks on people that are lost. They look totally lost — shocked and lost.”

Campbell, who wasn’t on the water, said his cousin pulled at least eight people from the water into a boat on Sunday afternoon.

Valerie Wilson, a spokeswoman for the Vancouver Island Health Authority, said 18 people were brought to the Tofino General Hospital.

Three who were more seriously injured were transferred to other hospitals on Vancouver Island and were in stable condition, Wilson said. The condition of the others wasn’t known.

The 20-metre boat — named The Leviathan II — belonged to the local whale watching outfit Jamie’s Whaling Station.

The company issued a statement saying it was a tragic day and its entire team was heartbroken.

“We are doing everything we can to assist our passengers and staff through this difficult time,” owner Jamie Bray said. “We are co-operating with investigators to determine exactly what happened.

Bray also offered his sincere thanks to first responders, Tofino residents and local First Nations communities who assisted with the rescue.