Two Spaniards dead, two missing and six survivors in the fishing boat sunk in the Malvinas

Two Spaniards have died and two others are missing after the accident suffered last Monday by the fishing boat Argos Georgiawhich sank in the Falkland Islands and whose tragedy has so far resulted in nine crew members of different nationalities dead, according to the maritime authority of the territory administered by the United Kingdom. The country of origin of the last victim has not yet been confirmed, as explained this Wednesday in a press conference in A Coruña by the Government delegate in Galicia, Pedro Blanco. Another six Spaniards who were part of the crew were rescued alive, according to the information that Salvamento de Malvinas provided to the Spanish authorities and communicated at midnight on Tuesday by the Government Delegation in Galicia. The deceased are the fishing skipper, a native of the Vigo parish of Valadares, and the ship’s cook, a resident of the municipality of Baiona (Pontevedra). The two missing Galicians live in the Coruña municipalities of Ribeira and Noia. Of the six crew members who have saved their lives, four come from Galicia (three from Ribeira and one from Pontevedra), one from Barcelona and one from Albacete.

According to the latest information, of the 25 crew members and two observers who were on the boat, there are 14 survivors, 9 crew members dead (two of them Spanish) whose bodies have been recovered and four missing (two of them also Spanish). The patrol boat Lilibet is on its way to the port of Stanley/Puerto Argentino, the capital, with 13 survivors, and the fishing boat Robin M. Lee The ship is carrying another on board. They are expected to arrive in the capital of the Falklands at around six o’clock on Wednesday evening, although the difficult sea conditions may cause delays, Spanish authorities warn. All the survivors are in good health, with only minor injuries and ailments. The King Edward VII Memorial Hospital in the Falklands is ready to receive them and carry out a medical assessment.

The Government delegate in Galicia, Pedro Blanco, has admitted that the search operation for the missing is “very complex” due to the “very unfavourable” weather conditions that are being recorded on this winter day in the southern hemisphere. There are waves of up to eight metres and winds of 35 knots, although the authorities have not lost “hope” of finding them. Blanco has spoken personally with all the Spanish families to give them the information and to be at their disposal for whatever they need, with the commitment to continue to inform them of any new developments. “I have conveyed to them the solidarity and affection of the Government of Spain and our full disposition for anything they may need,” said the delegate in Galicia. The Executive promises “not to skimp” on resources to repatriate the surviving sailors. If necessary, Blanco assures, a plane would be provided to speed up their return, since there are no direct commercial flights from Stanley to Spain.

According to the communication from the Malvinas maritime authorities to the Spanish authorities, the fishing boat Puerto Toro has recovered two bodies and the Robin M. Leebased in Cangas (Pontevedra), has rescued one survivor and one lifeless body. Twenty-seven people were on board the boat: ten Spaniards, eight Russians, five Indonesians, two Uruguayans and two Peruvians.

Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares also expressed the government’s willingness to repatriate survivors and the bodies of the deceased if necessary. The ministry is trying to contact the ship’s owner “to analyse the repatriation plan they have”, but Albares has said that the government will not “spare any effort”, he said in an interview on Tele5.

The Search and Rescue Coordination Center (MRCC) in Ushuaia, which depends on the Argentine Navy, received a notice at 2:11 p.m. on Monday (7:11 p.m. Spanish peninsular time) from the fishing boat’s emergency radio beacon. Argos Georgiawhich was located about 200 miles (370 kilometers) from Stanley/Puerto Argentino. The ship was suffering from a leak caused by the inclement weather. A little more than two hours later, the crew decided to abandon the ship in the three life rafts — one of which, according to The voice of Galiciawas not properly inflated—and notified Maritime Rescue. A helicopter and an Airbus A400M plane flew to the area, but were unable to carry out the rescue due to the worsening weather conditions, with winds blowing at 110 kilometres per hour and waves reaching up to eight metres in height. The three fishing boats then arrived in the area, which have enabled the rescue of the 14 survivors and the nine bodies, and they are continuing to search for the missing.

He Argos Georgiabuilt in Turkey in 2018, is 54 metres long, 13 metres wide and has a load capacity of 400 tonnes. It is owned by the Norwegian company Ervik Ocean and flies the British flag. The Falkland Islands, some 600 kilometres off the Argentine mainland, have been flown under the British flag since 1833. In 1982, Argentina and the United Kingdom fought a war over their sovereignty, which ended in a European victory and claimed the lives of 649 Argentines, 255 Britons and three islanders.