Russia: 17 sailors missing after sinking fishing boat in Barents Sea
A Russian icebreaker in the Barents Sea (illustration).
Lev Fedoseyev \ TASS via Getty Images
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2 min
In Russia, 17 sailors are still missing after the sinking on Monday, December 28 of a fishing vessel in the Barents Sea.
Two of the 19 crew members were rescued, their lives are not in danger.
In this arctic region where the weather conditions are extreme, the chances of survival of the castaways are almost nil.
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The ship "Onega" issued distress signals early this morning while off the Novaya Zemlya archipelago in Russia's far north.
According to the authorities, it is the “
icing
” of the boat which is the cause of the sinking.
Covered in ice, the "Onega" sank while fishing in a storm.
On site, a ship is carrying out search operations, three others are on their way to join it.
But access to the area is very difficult.
Polar night and extreme temperatures
The rescue teams are faced with extreme conditions that prevent the use of aviation: temperatures close to -30 °, strong winds, all in the middle of the polar night.
The ship was based in Murmansk, the major Russian Arctic port where most of the crew come from.
Only two of them were rescued.
Disappeared in a particularly inhospitable area, the 17 others have almost no chance of survival.
The governor of the Murmansk region, Andrei Tchibis, indicated that assistance would be given to their families.
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