A sailor is recovering after falling into the ocean off the coast of Vancouver Island.

“We were alerted of a person in the water that had fallen off a Rigid Hull Inflatable Boat,” Maj. Greg Clarke with the Joint Rescue Coordination Centre told Global News.

The call came in at 2:43 p.m. on Monday afternoon when two Royal Canadian Navy members were returning from conducting sentry duties off the Bentinck Island range and one man went overboard.

“It was an emotional event,” Rear Admiral David Patchell, with the Maritime Forces Pacific and Joint Task Force Pacific, said.

“We knew one of our sailors was missing at sea.”

Three helicopters, one aircraft, two patrol vessels, a tug, HMCS Regina and a Canadian Coast Guard vessel responded.

Around 5 p.m., with the help of new thermal imaging

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