Ten dead after Spanish trawler sinks off the coast of Canada

A tragic vessel sinking on Monday has killed at least 10 sailors and around a dozen others remain missing after the Spanish fishing trawler sank off the coast of Canada.

The vessel – Villa de Pitanxo – went down 450 kilometres east of Newfoundland, according to the agency Salvamento Maritimo.

The 50-metre long vessel, based in the port of Marin in northwestern Spain, had 24 crew members on board – 16 Spanish sailors, 5 sailors from Peru and 3 from Ghana.

Three sailors were rescued with seven confirmed dead on Tuesday afternoon.

El dispositivo marítimo y aéreo de búsqueda desplegado a 450 km al ESE de Terranova está formado por un avión, dos helicópteros, un pesquero español y otro portugués. A primera hora de la tarde se incorporará un buque canadiense y esta madrugada una fragata del JRCC Halifax pic.twitter.com/YIjpsN4aM3

— SALVAMENTO MARÍTIMO (@salvamentogob) February 15, 2022

Canadian rescue tweeted later in the day that “sadly, three other dead people have been recovered from the fishing boat” that sank, bringing the death toll to 10.

There is an ongoing search for those who remain missing, the search operation is being supported by a plane, two helicopters and a Spanish and a Portuguese fishing boat.

A Canadian ship and Halifax-based frigate joined in the effort. “The conditions in the area are windy, rough seas and reduced visibility,” Salvamento Maritimo said in a tweet.