An off-duty B.C. Ferries employee is being credited with saving the life of a 63-year-old man who jumped off the Queen of Burnaby as it sailed from Powell River to Comox Tuesday.

The employee saw the man jump over the railing and into the water just before 1 p.m. Within three minutes, the employee had deployed two rescue boats, and the man had been located.

Eight minutes later, he was back on board, RCMP said.

Paramedics with B.C. Ambulance happened to be on that sailing and attended to the man. He was transported to St. Joseph’s Hospital in Comox.

Const. Tammy Douglas, Comox Valley RCMP, said the man appeared cold and wet, but otherwise uninjured. Douglas called the B.C. Ferries response “remarkable.”