More than 100 shipping containers fell from crippled cargo ship off B.C. coast

The severity of a marine disaster off Vancouver Island is far worse than first reported, according to internal coast guard communications obtained by CTV News.

The emails sent on Tuesday evening show the cargo ship Zim Kingston's owner underestimated the number of shipping containers that fell from the vessel during a storm.

Originally, the Canadian Coast Guard reported that 40 containers fell from the ship in heavy seas and high winds Friday, but now it appears there are more than 100 containers are drifting off Vancouver Island.

"The owner now believes that 109 containers were lost in the initial event," one email says.

The email also says that only two of the containers are believed to have dangerous goods inside them.

In a situation update late Wednesday morning, the coast guard confirmed that more than 100 containers were lost.

"It has now been determined that 106 containers fell overboard, not 40 as originally estimated via aircraft observation shortly after the incident," the coast guard said.

The stricken Zim Kingston vessel remains anchored off Victoria.

Shortly after the containers slipped overboard, the vessel also suffered a serious fire inside containers on the ship. The fire continues to smoulder in containers at the bottom of a large stack.