Skip to content

Ten dead, search continues for 11 crew after Spanish fishing boat sinks off N.L.

Ten dead, search continues for 11 crew after Spanish fishing boat sinks off N.L.
28179760_web1_20220215090244-620bbce968435e72cf4887a1jpeg

HALIFAX — Search and rescue teams were expected to continue operating overnight after 10 members of a Spanish fishing boat died and 11 were missing in the icy waters of the North Atlantic east of Newfoundland.

The Joint Rescue Co-ordination Centre in Halifax updated the number of dead Tuesday night after three more bodies were recovered from the sunken vessel.

“Our thoughts go out to all the families of this crew,” the centre said on Twitter.

The search was to continue in the area 460 kilometres east of St. John’s, Lt.-Cmdr. Brian Owens, a spokesman for the centre in Halifax, said in an interview.

“One of the advantages overnight is you can potentially spot flares or strobe lights,” Owens said.

Three survivors were located in a life raft by another Spanish fishing boat in the area since the first distress signal was received just after midnight Tuesday.

Owens said it wasn’t known whether the survivors would be taken to St. John’s or back to Spain. He had no word on their condition.

Earlier in the day, he said a debris field had been located in the North Atlantic.

“It has allowed us to focus our efforts … and centralize our search,” Owens said, adding that some life-jackets, fishing equipment, gear and an empty life-raft were found at the site.

Owens said the search teams were battling difficult sea conditions, adding that the region was experiencing 74-kilometre-per-hour winds and sea swells of 5.5 metres. “The visibility has decreased with fog so it is making it a little bit challenging on the water.”

Conditions in that area of the North Atlantic, however, can be much worse, he said.

“Personally, I’ve seen 10- to 15-metre swells,” he said. “Five- to five-and-a-half (metres) is still a bit of a rough ride, depending on the type of vessel you are in. The Spanish fishing vessels that are assisting in this search are designed for this weather.”

Owens said three Cormorant helicopters were rotating in and out of the area and flying from St. John’s to the Hibernia offshore oilfield and then out to the search site.