The Limited Times

Now you can see non-English news...

An unexplained shipwreck

2023-04-09T14:24:48.657Z


The death of two sailors and the disappearance of a third when the 'Vilaboa Uno' sank off the coast of Santander worries the world of fishing


Ohana

means family in Hawaiian, and this tattoo on the back of Max Ferreyra's hand makes even more sense now that he's orphaned.

The sea has taken his father, the Peruvian Walter, and he has not returned him yet.

No one can guarantee that it does.

With him, two more sailors have left, Francisco Sampedro Faleato from Cantabria, Fali, and Ghanaian Kofi Buabeng, cabin companions and destination.

The boat in which they fished, the

Vilaboa Uno

, sank at dawn on Monday and only the help of other fishing boats allowed seven crew members to be saved from hypothermia in the Cantabrian Sea.

Three were left behind.

Their families have been united by the death of sailors of different origins but the same end.

There are still no answers to how the ship collapsed in just minutes, no arguments about a cruel misfortune for those who perform more than a trade.

The deceased bear similarities such as age, between 56 and 58 years.

Just a few weeks separated them from retirement.

The rooting distinguishes them.

The African Buabeng had been in Santander for a short time and it is hardly known that he has a cousin, which makes him a lonely sailor who was looking for a life where he is at great risk of losing it.

Some Senegalese who walk along the pier where the clothes that the survivors took off were drying simply comment that many Africans look to the bay as a way of livelihood.

More information

The skipper of the fishing boat that has rescued the survivors of the shipwreck in the waters of Santander: "We found them floating motionless and exhausted"

Ferreyra had more links after almost 20 years between tackle, bows and Cantabrian horse mackerel.

Here he settled with his wife Leonor and his children, Max and Milagros, grew up.

He is 120 meters deep, under that calm surface these days, but capable of swallowing the projects of a clan.

"Don't stop looking for my husband!" sobs Leonor, who denies those who point to an alleged human error by the Peruvian as the cause of the accident: "My husband is an excellent mechanic, they know it in Cantabria, in San Sebastián, in France , in Laredo, in Colindres and in Santoña”.

His 29-year-old daughter raises her voice helplessly.

"I am a person who has lost his father, do not stop looking for him, he does not deserve this," he begged before the concentration that on Tuesday honored the deceased.

The device, with underwater robots and divers, will endeavor to find the ship, and Walter, if he is inside, a few miles from the Santander coast.

The strong current and the complexity of the seabed have prevented the robots from bringing advances pending the modern ROV Comanche, which they hope to have there in a few days.

The proximity of the coast and the mild weather of that night make it difficult for the fishing district, where all the wisdom and pain that many work and vital curricula linked to the Cantabrian Sea bring together.

Not even the most veteran knows how to tie up loose ends.

The first explanations about a presumed leak are not convincing either.

Lucio Faleato, 65, curses.

Fali's uncle has too many questions.

"A leak in a boat 28 meters long and with that wingspan sinks it in minutes?" He questions.

His experience tells him that there would be time to resort to the emergency boat.

Faleato suspects that the fishing boat could have extended its nets and, suddenly, it came upon a huge school of fish that, when entangled, destabilized the vessel.

"All my life walking in the sea, without enjoying anything and look, a month after retiring...", laments Fali's uncle.

The deceased had decided that this would be his last sarda (mackerel) campaign before retiring.

Coast of Cabo Mayor, in Santander, where the sunken ship is believed to be found.JUANMA SERRANO/EUROPA PRESS (JUANMA SERRANO/EUROPA PRESS)

The relatives also hurt how they found out about the deaths.

Due to the publications on social networks by Miguel Ángel Revilla, regional president (Regionalist Party of Cantabria) early on Monday.

Fali's sister, Gema Sampedro Faleato, 58, is furious at the thought.

Revilla, present on Tuesday and receiving criticism at the concentration, argues that the announcement was the responsibility of Maritime Rescue, also coordinator of the rescue tasks of the remains and the missing sailor.

The case, prosecuted, reveals little evidence and despairs those who empathize because they know that tomorrow it could be their turn or one of their own.

Several similar shipwrecks in recent years show that there is cause for concern.

"Makes you want to cry"

The entire chain of the world of fish is affected.

Agustín de la Peña, one of the managers of the Los Peñucas restaurant, the gastronomic emblem of the place, laments the event: "It is terrible, it makes you want to cry, these tragedies feel familiar."

Diners who taste these bonitos or sea breams are unaware of the danger of catching these delicacies.

"You can see the faces of bitterness, the fishermen risk their lives and the money is taken by the intermediaries," says the Cantabrian.

The humble houses of the fishing district reflect that fish is enough to eat and not much else.

At least to them.

The news has brought Francisco Ferreyro, 58, a truck driver in France, to the port of Santander, where the search and care for those close to the deceased are coordinated.

He wants to know what happened to his brother.

The man, exhausted and turned off, goes to a port administration counter: "Hello, I came to ask about the sunken ship."

Subscribe to continue reading

Read without limits

Keep reading

I'm already a subscriber

Source: elparis

All news articles on 2023-04-09

You may like

Trends 24h

Latest

© Communities 2019 - Privacy

The information on this site is from external sources that are not under our control.
The inclusion of any links does not necessarily imply a recommendation or endorse the views expressed within them.