At least 6 dead as fishing boat sinks off Falkland Islands

By Sahar Akbarzai and Juliana Gonzalez | CNN

(CNN) — At least six people are dead and seven missing after a fishing vessel carrying 27 onboard sank in the South Atlantic about 200 miles off the coast of the Falkland Islands.

The fishing vessel, FV Argos Georgia, requested assistance soon after it began sinking east of the islands at about 4 p.m. local time Monday, the Falkland Islands government said in press release Tuesday.

The crew abandoned ship and some managed to board life rafts, the government said.

Some of those who boarded the life rafts have since been rescued, but a search is continuing for those still missing, the statement said.

CNN has reached out to the Falkland Islands government to clarify the number of dead and missing. “This is a developing situation, and we will provide no further comment,” Sally Heathman, head of communications for the Falkland Islands Government, told CNN on Tuesday.

Citing British and Spanish maritime authorities, the Associated Press reported that 14 people had made it onto a life raft and were rescued by nearby fishing boats. It said at least six people had died and seven remained missing. At least 10 of the crew members were identified as Spaniards, the AP reported.

Those who have been rescued will be taken to the King Edward VII Memorial Hospital in the capital Stanley for medical assessments, according to the Falkland Islands government.

A search and rescue operation involving helicopters and vessels began on Monday and will continue throughout the night on Tuesday.

The Falkland Islands said that a search and rescue helicopter had unsuccessfully attempted to rescue crew members on Monday evening but was thwarted due to “extremely challenging weather conditions and very limited time on scene due to range.”

“The helicopter returned to Stanley Airport to refuel prior to a second attempt but the weather worsened further, and rotary wing SAR operations were suspended,” it added.

In addition to the Falkland Islands government, the search and rescue operation involves the government of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, HQ British Forces South Atlantic Islands, the UK Maritime & Coastguard Agency, the management company of the fishing vessel, and other fishing vessels at sea.

“The Falkland Islands government sends their thoughts to all the families involved,” it added.

Argentina’s Navy said it had also attempted search and rescue operations after being alerted about the ship’s sinking.

The Falkland Islands, which lie about 300 miles east of the tip of South America, are a British-ruled overseas territory over which Britain and Argentina fought a brief war in 1982. Britain won that war but Argentina continues to claim the islands, which it refers to as Las Malvinas.

According to the Associated Press, the Argos Georgia is managed by Argos Froyanes Ltd, a privately-owned joint British-Norwegian company, and was sailing under the flag of St Helena, another British overseas territories in the South Atlantic.

“This accident highlights the harshness of fishing activity and the sacrifice and risk that sea professionals experience,” said Carmen Crespo, chair of the Committee on Fisheries, for the European Parliament in a statement on Tuesday.

This is a developing story and will be updated.