At least four people have died and 17 others are missing after a Spanish fishing vessel sank in the Atlantic off the coast of Canada.
Three people were rescued alive from a life raft, Lieutenant Captain Brian Owens of the Canadian Armed Forces told the German Press Agency on Tuesday.
"We have hope that others are still alive."
However, the weather off the island of Terranova was "challenging" for the search operation by plane, helicopter and a coast guard ship: Visibility was low and the waves were up to four meters high.
The spokeswoman for the Spanish government, Isabel Rodríguez, had previously said in Madrid that numerous deaths were expected.
The accident happened on Tuesday night (around 6:00 a.m. CET), according to consistent sources.
According to Canadian information, 24 seamen were on board the ship "Villa de Pitanxo" from Galicia in north-west Spain at the time of the accident.
For the time being, nothing was known about the cause of the sinking.