Multiple crew members killed and missing after fishing boat sinks off Falkland islands

By Sahar Akbarzai and Juliana Gonzalez, CNN

(CNN) — At least nine people are dead and four are missing after a fishing vessel sank in the South Atlantic about 200 miles off the coast of the Falkland Islands, Spanish authorities said Wednesday.

The fishing vessel, FV Argos Georgia, had 27 people onboard when it took on water and began sinking east of the islands on Monday. It requested assistance soon after 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.

Fourteen people survived the sinking with slight injuries, while authorities are continuing to search for the missing using maritime, air, and satellite resources.

At least 10 of the crew members were identified as Spaniards, the Associated Press reported. Two of the deceased were from Spain’s Galicia region, the Government Delegation in Galicia said.

Citing British and Spanish maritime authorities, the AP reported that the 14 known survivors had been rescued by nearby fishing boats.

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

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 AP, 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 story had been updated with additional information.

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