Josean Izarra Vitoria
Victoria
Updated Friday, February 9, 2024-10:32
A Maritime Rescue team and a Civil Guard patrol boat have rescued the 16 sailors from the fishing boat 'María Reina Madre' when it was sailing off the coast of Gipuzkoa. The ship is based in the Galician port of Bureba and uses the French flag because it operates off the French coast in hake fishing. The skipper of the Burela Brotherhood José Basilio Otero has confirmed to EL MUNDO the rescue of the crew while waiting to know the causes of the accident suffered by the fishing boat.
The 'María Reina Madre' is a 25 meter long fishing boat based in Burela and which activated the request for help when it was 9 miles north of the Guipuzcoan port of Pasaia. A Maritime Rescue ship has already rescued the entire crew that is being transferred to the port of Pasaia. Throughout the day and much of the night yesterday, the Basque coast was hit by wind gusts exceeding 140 kilometers per hour. At the moment, the causes that caused the accident of the fishing boat that began to sink in the sea are unknown.
Last July, another Galician fishing vessel based in Burela, the 'Nuevo San Juan', suffered a fire and its 15 crew members were rescued. The vessel suffered a fire in the Irish waters of the Great Sol and the ship sank.