Five Britons were killed when a whale-watching boat sank off the coast of western Canada, UK Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond has said.
The boat carrying 27 people sank near Tofino, a popular tourist area on Vancouver Island, on Sunday afternoon, killing a woman and four men.
Officials said 21 people had been rescued and one was still missing.
The cause of the accident remains unknown but sea conditions at the time of the incident were said to be calm.
Barbara McLintock from the British Columbia coroner's office, said the victims ranged in age from 18 to 76. Three were tourists on holiday from the UK, while two were British nationals living in Canada - one woman from British Columbia and a man from Ontario.The boat, Leviathan II, made a mayday call before sinking about 8 miles (12km) west of Tofino.
A dive team from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police are searching for the final missing person while Canada's Transportation Safety Board have begun an investigation in Tofino.Mr Hammond said: "It is with deep sadness that I can confirm five British nationals have lost their lives when the whale watching boat they were on sank off Western Canada on Sunday.
"My thoughts are with the family and friends of all those affected by this terrible accident."
Mr Hammond said consular staff in the region were supporting the family members of those who had died and were in close contact with the Canadian authorities.
Within 30 minutes of the mayday call, a rescue helicopter and boat were on the scene. Other boats in the area also responded to the call for help.
Lieutenant Paul Trenholm, from the Joint Rescue Co-ordination Centre in British Columbia, said people from the nearby indigenous First Nation villages had been first on the scene.
"Without the assistance of the First Nation community this could have been much worse," he said.Eyewitness Alec Dick, from nearby Ahousaht First Nation, told Canada's Global News network: "They got swamped by a wave. It just flipped their boat completely. I've never seen, in my involvement with search and rescue, heard this happen before.""I saw a lot of personal belongings, a long diesel slick and the top 10 feet of the Leviathan II sticking out of the water," he said. "It's a sad day for our community."Canadian broadcaster CBC reported that because of the size of the boat passengers would not normally be requested to wear life jackets while on board.