Tragedy at Sea Averted
Twenty – two crew members of the Spanish fishing trawler Monte Galineiro which sank off Newfoundland this past Sunday are happy to be back on land.
The captain of a Spanish fishing vessel said Monday he and his crew were in mortal danger when a Canadian Coast Guard ship pulled them from the frigid North Atlantic.
“In five minutes, the ship was sinking very fast,” Ivan Blanco, the captain of the Monte Galineiro, told reporters in St. John’s on Monday, just a day after the entire crew of 22 were safely plucked from the Atlantic after a fire ripped through the ship.
Blanco said an explosion in the ship’s engine room caused the fire. He said they had mere minutes to escape the ship and were delighted that the CCGS Leonard J. Cowley was on the scene soon after the distress call went out.
The Cowley arrived Monday in St. John’s, carrying 21 sailors who had been rescued about 400 kilometres east of St. John’s. Another crew member, who had been suffering from hypothermia, had already been flown to hospital in St. John’s. He has since been released.
Blanco said the crew is very grateful for the assistance they received from the Canadian Coast Guard, the Red Cross and citizens of St. John’s who have volunteered assistance. Members of the Spanish trawler’s crew smiled and waved from the Cowley as it arrived in port, and appeared happy as they left the vessel.
The ship’s manifest shows that the crew is predominantly Spanish, though some came from other countries, including Ghana, Morocco and Romania. The crew are expected to leave St. John’s for Spain on Tuesday night.
This was a happy ending to what otherwise could have been a terrible tragedy at sea.
Note: The dramatic photos showing the sinking of the Monte Galineiro are shown below (Source: Canadian Coast Guard)
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