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Relatives of the crew of the sunken ship in Canada: "We don't know if our nephew is alive"

2022-02-15T22:37:16.458Z


The trawler 'Villa de Pitanxo' was swallowed by the Newfoundland Sea in a few minutes. Relatives of the fishermen live with despair the lack of news after the shipwreck


The tragedy has hit the Galician fishing sector again.

The

Villa de Pitanxo freezer ship

, based in the port of Marin, sank in Newfoundland waters with 24 crew members, but there are only three survivors, confirmed by the Canadian authorities, in the midst of a complicated rescue operation, with freezing temperatures, which has a tragic balance Provisional 10 deceased.

The news arrived at dawn and hours passed without the shipping company being able to clarify the possible causes of the shipwreck, much less the number of dead and missing.

A spokesman for the shipowner group Nores was helpless as he was unable to confirm the data coming from Newfoundland.

"We are receiving news, but much of it is confusing and contradictory, so we have to be careful because there are many families behind this tragedy," he told EL PAÍS.

More information

Ten dead, three rescued and 11 missing in the shipwreck of a Galician fishing boat in Newfoundland

This company based in the port of Marín, owner of eight ships and with more than 300 employees, has been this Tuesday the scene of a coming and going of relatives and close friends of the sailors of the marine municipalities of Marín and Cangas enrolled in the

Villa de Pitanxo:

"We don't know if our nephew is alive and this is distressing," says a woman as she goes to the headquarters of the assembly company.

Of the 24 crew members, at least 11 are Galician, although among them there are sailors from Peru and Ghana who lived in Galicia.

In mid-afternoon it was confirmed that among the three survivors was the ship's skipper, Juan Padín Costa, and his nephew Eduardo Rial Padín, 42 years old.

They were in one of the three lifeboats that were rescued, while another was not located.

The 53-year-old skipper, a veteran sailor who had been fishing for years in the fishing grounds of Canada, managed to communicate with his family in Cangas when he was out of danger aboard the Canadian maritime rescue ship and only told them: “Calm down, Eduardo. and I are safe."

Padín could not give details of the disaster in order to reassure other families.

Two relatives of one of the crew members of the ship 'Villa de Pitanxo', this Tuesday in Marín. OSCAR CORRAL

The hours have passed and the dance of figures of the deceased has increased "We can only pray," commented Elisabeth, 39-year-old aunt of Jonathan Calderón, while waiting for news from the shipbuilding company.

Sara Prieto, Eduardo Rial's girlfriend, has reported that he sent her a message this Monday in which she told him that he had very bad weather.

"We found out about the accident through an acquaintance and the media, because the shipowner did not notify us," complained Sara, who has shown "sorrow and concern for the fate of the 10 deceased sailors and the 11 who remain missing" .

"When we managed to talk to the shipowner, they had only told us that three of the crew members had been found," added Sara, who explained that her boyfriend had been on board this fishing boat for five years, although he had many years of experience, and pointed out that to It

was the first time for many of the sailors that they signed up for the

Villa de Pitanxo.

Follow the rescue operation

The rescue operations of the 14 missing crew members have not ended, and a Canadian frigate is expected to join the rescue work in the midst of adverse metrological conditions due to a deep storm with five meter waves.

It was night when the shipwreck occurred, which made the rescue work even more difficult.

With almost two decades of experience catching halibut, the

Villa de Pitanxo

was one of the most modern vessels in the Spanish fleet operating in Canada, and the average age of its crew was around 40 years.

"It is without a doubt a black day for Galician fishing, and as long as there is no possibility of clarifying the causes, we believe that it could have been a blow from the sea," explains Javier Touza, president of the Vigo Shipowners' Association.

Sara Prieto, girlfriend of Eduardo Rial Padín, shows a photo of her on her phone. OSCAR CORRAL

A Portuguese and a Spanish fishing boat found the first deceased and survivors.

The rescued patients presented hypothermic shock due to the low temperatures of the water.

Three of the crew members are from Marín, as many others from different towns in Cangas.

The accident that caused the sudden sinking of the ship occurred 250 nautical miles off the coast of St. John, the capital of Newfoundland and Labrador.

In addition to the Canadian rescue ship Cygnus, a Cormorant helicopter, a Hercules C130 aircraft and several support boats participated, as well as two Galician fishing vessels that were fishing in the fishing ground.

The relatives of the victims are still waiting for news from the shipbuilding company that hours after the incident announced that it was working to provide them with all the information obtained through the Canadian authorities.

But the official statement did not arrive almost 24 hours after the shipwreck.

Source: elparis

All news articles on 2022-02-15

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