It's being called a miraculous rescue. At about 5:45 Monday night the ferry Queen of Cowichan was sailing from Horseshoe Bay to Departure Bay when witnesses saw a woman remove her clothing and leap into the water.
A passenger threw a life preserver overboard and activated the emergency system, triggering a massive search by ferry personnel from 2 vessels, as well as the Coast Guard, and Search and Rescue.
While they found the life ring, the woman was not with it, so searchers tossed the ring back into the water and kept searching. After 5 hours they believed there was no longer hope of her survival, so they called off the search and went to retrieve the life preserver which had a light on it. They couldn't believe their eyes when they found the woman clinging to the ring near Bowen Island.
She was rushed to hospital in Vancouver. Her condition is not known.