Sinking of a Spanish trawler off Canada: the country in mourning, the search continues
Spanish fishing vessel facing heavy weather off the coast of Galicia (illustrative image).
AFP - MIGUEL RIOPA
Text by: RFI Follow
2 mins
Spain is in mourning, this Wednesday, February 16, the day after the sinking of the "
Villa de Pitanxo
",
a trawler from the region of Galicia (north-west) which left ten dead and eleven missing off the coast of Canada.
The hope of finding survivors is dwindling due to difficult weather conditions.
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Spanish Fisheries Minister Luis Planas lamented "
the greatest tragedy in 38 years
" for the Spanish fishing sector, referring to the sinking of the trawler
Islamar III
, which killed 26 people off the Canary Islands in July 1984. According to Mr. Planas, eight ships are currently mobilized in the area to try to find the missing.
Among them are "
Spanish and Portuguese fishing boats
" and vessels belonging to "
Canadian authorities
", he said.
The hope of finding alive the 11 missing in the icy waters of the Atlantic is now extremely weak.
A minute of silence
"
Once again, the people of the sea are hit hard
" by a tragedy, underlined on Twitter the president of the region of Galicia, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, announcing a day of "
official mourning
" in tribute to the victims. of this shipwreck.
In Madrid, the Spanish deputies observed for their part a minute of silence in the Hemicycle in memory of the people who died or disappeared in the sinking of the
Villa de Pitanxo
off the island of Newfoundland, as well as to "
their families and friends
”.
"
The weather at the moment is complicating our search
," Brian Owens, Canadian spokesman for the rescue and coordination center, told AFP.
“
The waves are about four meters high and the visibility is reduced to about a quarter of a nautical mile
”, added this spokesperson, specifying that the search would nevertheless continue, “
whatever the weather
” .
A crew of 16 Spaniards, five Peruvians and three Ghanaians
A total of 24 crew members were on board this trawler based in the small port of Marín, in Galicia, when it disappeared on Tuesday at around 4:30 a.m. UT (00:30 a.m. local time) 450 kilometers southeast of Terre- New.
Among them, three were fished out, ten were found dead and eleven others are still wanted, according to Canadian relief.
The three survivors, whose nationality was not specified, were evacuated by helicopter in a state of hypothermia.
According to the Spanish authorities, the crew consisted of 16 Spaniards, five Peruvians and three Ghanaians.
(
with AFP
)
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