Missing crewman presumed drowned after fishing boat capsizes

One crew member is presumed drowned after a fishing boatsank "in a matter of seconds" near Comox, B.C. on Monday.

The Miss Cory, a 19-metre vessel, was fishing for herring when it went down around 4 p.m., according to the Canadian Coast Guard.

TroyHaddock, the agency's maritime co-ordinator, said a nearby boat saw the vessel "essentially disappear" in less than a minute.

"The vessel shifted slightly, one of the crew members went down to the engine room to investigateand whatever happened was catastrophic. It rolled over immediately and sank," Haddocksaid Tuesday.

Four out of five crew members escaped and were rescued by the nearby boat.

It's believed the man who went to the engine room went down with the vessel.

Search called off

Haddock said multiple fishing boats, coast guard vessels and a helicopter searched for the crewman, but with no luck.

Rescue efforts werecalled off around dark and Haddock said the missing man is presumed drowned.

"If the individual did get out of the boat, he would've been picked up right away," the co-ordinatorsaid, adding that the boat sank in about 260 metres of water.

ComoxRCMP are now handling the investigation as a missing person case.

Haddock said an investigation into the cause of the sinking would be done by the Transportation Safety Board.