Stranded mariner rescued from life raft 75 km off Vancouver Island

One person was taken to hospital in Tofino, B.C., on Thursday after they were found floating in a life raft nearly 75 kilometres off the west coast of Vancouver Island.

One person was taken to hospital in Tofino, B.C., on Thursday after they were found floating in a life raft nearly 75 kilometres off the west coast of Vancouver Island.

A spokesperson for Maritime Forces Pacific says the Joint Rescue Co-ordination Centre in Victoria was alerted to the life raft at 8 a.m. by a fishing vessel in the area, approximately 40 nautical miles off Ucluelet, B.C.

The public affairs officer said the centre did not know how the stranded mariner came to be in the raft so far from shore, or if they were associated with the fishing boat that made the rescue call on their behalf.

Coast guard vessel Cape Ann was dispatched to the scene to rescue the stranded mariner.

B.C. Emergency Health Services says it was contacted by the JRCC at 8:42 a.m. about "a marine incident."

One ambulance was dispatched to the government dock in Tofino to await the patient's arrival.

Paramedics treated the mariner, who was found to be in stable condition, and transported them to Tofino General Hospital.