Spanish fishing trawler sank in the stormy Canadian waters, 21 missing

Last updated on February 26th, 2022 at 01:12 pm

Last week, a Spanish fishing trawler sank in the stormy Canadian waters. On Monday, the shipowner reported that around 21 sailors were either missing or dead due to the ship’s sinking.

Villa de Pitanxo initially had 24 people on board when it went off the coast of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada, early Tuesday. Out of 24 people, five were Peruvians, three were Ghanaians, and the rest were Spaniards.
The rescuers could find only three survivors, including the ship’s captain, Juan Padín. He was found in a lifeboat, suffering from hypothermia and was taken immediately to the St. John’s port in Canada.
After being rescued, he stated that the sinking of the trawler happened due to the engine failure at a sudden turn.

Nores Marin Group, based in Galicia, Spain’s northwestern region that owns the ship, informed that the accident happened when the ship undertook a turn.

“The main engine suddenly stopped, leaving the boat without propulsion or direction, exposed to the wind and the waves, suffering blows from the sea that caused it to tilt and sink very quickly,” it added, quoting the captain.

There is practically no chance of survival in such cold and violent seas. As of now, the rescuers could find only nine bodies. They searched for the others till Wednesday and gave up the search.
However, the families of the missing 12 people still want the bodies to bury them properly. They have begged the authorities to continue with their search.

A Spanish air force plane brought the three survivors and the five dead bodies to St. John’s on Monday. They were expected to be brought back to Spain overnight, whereas the remaining four bodies will be transported to Peru.

The ratio of the survivors to the dead ones could deem fit to call this accident Spain’s worst fishing tragedy in nearly 40 years.