10 killed, 11 missing after Spanish fishing boat sinks off Newfoundland coast

10 killed, 11 missing after Spanish fishing boat sinks off Newfoundland coast

Source: cbc

2/15/2022

10 killed, 11 missing after Spanish fishing boat sinks off Newfoundland coast

Credit: Vesselfinder.com

A Spanish fishing boat sank off the coast of Newfoundland, killing at least 10 people, a Spanish official said Tuesday. Three crew members have been rescued and the remaining crew members are missing.

Search operations are ongoing to locate the rest of the crew of the sunken vessel, Spanish government spokeswoman Isabel Rodriguez said, adding that authorities were following the incident "with concern." The Joint Rescue Coordination Centre in Halifax told CBC News there were 24 crew members onboard the vessel when it sunk.

Stephen Waller, the acting regional supervisor of maritime search and rescue with JRCC Halifax, said harsh weather and waves over five metres impeded the search early Tuesday, but conditions improved throughout the day.

"The water temperature is the biggest problem. Survivability in these water temperatures is is quite short," Waller said.

Three more bodies were recovered from the vessel as of 8 p.m. NT, bringing the number of reported deaths to 10.

Waller said the search will continue overnight with the goal of locating survivors, but as time passes the chance of finding any gets slimmer.