Natalia Puga Pontevedra
Pontevedra
Updated Wednesday, January 31, 2024-15:48
Naufrag Located in Newfoundland, the fishing boat Villa de Pitanxo, sunk in 2022
Justice The last cries of the sailors of the Villa de Pitanxo: "Drop the rigging, you are going to kill us, murderer!"
The report carried out by the judicial experts appointed by the National Court to analyze the shipwreck of the Galician ship
Villa de Pitanxo
in February 2022 in the waters of
Newfoundland (Canada)
concludes that the "most probable cause" of the sinking was "a human error by the captain ",
Juan Padin
. This man is already listed as being investigated for 21 crimes of homicide due to serious recklessness and another against workers' rights in the court case.
The document, which the parties received this Wednesday, maintains that the sinking was due to this human error by the captain due to the "lack of full perception of the risk of sinking" that the maneuver he carried out to free the rig from the seabed entailed. , with the sea and the wind following and the waste discharge hopper open, "putting the safety of the ship and its crew at serious risk."
The report points to several "contributing factors" to the accident, including the delay with which the captain gave the order to abandon ship to the crew, which "conditioned them to be able to abandon ship in an orderly manner and with some probability of success". Of the 24 crew members, only three were saved: the captain; his nephew,
Eduardo Rial
; and Ghanaian sailor
Samuel Kwesi
.
The judicial experts also see as a determining factor in the accident the "lack of familiarization of the crew with their obligations and functions attributed in the organic framework for emergency situations" and with the use of rescue devices (immersion suit, life jacket, equipment life raft survival and radio rescue devices). For the experts, this highlights "the lack of training on board and the failure to carry out periodic abandon ship exercises." Only the captain and his nephew were wearing those suits when they were rescued in Newfoundland.
Another factor that, according to the experts, contributed to the outcome of this sinking was the lack of a staircase on starboard, from the upper deck to the officers' deck, as it would have constituted a quick means of evacuation from the deck exposed to the elements. and out to sea towards the life rafts.
Finally, they also highlight that the "adverse maritime and meteorological conditions" that existed in the place were important in the shipwreck; doubt made the maneuver to clear the mess difficult."
The lawyer who represents the majority of the families,
Manuel Lampón
, announced this Wednesday that they continue analyzing the report, but they have already been able to conclude that his assessment "is very positive", since it "corroborates" what the families and their family have always maintained. legal defense, the "clear responsibility of the captain" and the ship's owner,
Grupo Nores
, also investigated in the case.
The lawyer also highlights that the report corroborates that Samuel Kwesi's version "is the correct one" and concludes that "it was all Padín's responsibility." The three survivors provide different versions of what happened and the reports are key to clarifying unknowns that remain unresolved since the last signal from the ship's blue box was received at 4:19 a.m. on February 15, 2022 at 250 nautical miles. of Newfoundland.
According to lawyer Lampón, "it is proven that the engine did not stop," as the captain said, but that the engine was running practically until the end of the ship's sinking. The captain and the shipowner have based their strategy on saying that the engine had stopped suddenly a long time before and the report of the judicial experts "debunks that issue."
"It confirms the captain's responsibility, very clearly," says the lawyer, who recalls that "ultimate responsibility" also belongs to the company.
In preparing this report, the descent to the Villa de Pitanxo
wreck last June has been decisive
, a search, location and inspection mission sponsored by the National Court and the
Permanent Commission for the Investigation of Maritime Accidents and Incidents
(CIAIM), and paid for by government. The
Ártabo
vessel
of the ACSM Shipping company located the ship at about 800 meters deep.
"Emotion" of families
The lawyer explains that "the images of the ship reinforce the conclusions" and that "the relevance of the ship's descent has been decisive."
María José de Pazo
, spokesperson for the families, insists on the same and recognizes the "emotion" they feel upon receiving this document, as it shows that "the families were right" and it has been confirmed that "all the struggle" was worth it. they carried out for more than a year until they reached the wreck.
With this report, we begin to "show the way to the truth" of what happened in the shipwreck. "All those journeys we had to make were worth it," since the report says "unequivocally" that Samuel's version "is the credible one, it is the true one."