Commercial Fishing Vessel Sinks Off Galicia

[Brief] On Monday, a commercial fishing vessel began taking on water and sank just off the coast of Galicia, according to local search and rescue authorities. 

On Monday, the 2005-built fishing vessel El Cañavera reported that it was in danger of sinking just one nautical mile off Punta Candelaria, a cape just north of the port of Cedeira on Galicia's northwestern coast. The crew abandoned ship into a liferaft and their vessel sank by the stern about five minutes later. 

SAR authorities responded to the call and dispatched a rescue helicopter, along with the rescue launches Salvamar Shaula and LS Pardo Bazan. The fishing vessel Brisas de Cedeira was nearby, and within 20 minutes, it reached the life raft and rescued all four crewmembers in it. All were delivered safely to Cedeira. 

Courtesy Salvamento Maritimo

"They were asking for help and we had them practically in sight, we were ten minutes away from them," said the skipper of Brisas de Cedeira, Angel Gonzalez, speaking to La Voz de Galicia. "But after five minutes it disappeared."

The boat's bow remained in the air as of Monday, so the position of the wreck was marked and broadcast to reduce the risk to shipping. The cause of the casualty is under investigation.