FV Argos Georgia: Several crew members killed and missing after fishing boat sinks off Falkland Islands

CNN
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At least six people are dead and seven are missing after a fishing boat with 27 people on board sank in the South Atlantic about 200 miles off the coast of the Falkland Islands.

The fishing vessel FV Argos Georgia asked for help shortly after it began sinking east of the islands at around 4 p.m. local time on Monday, the Falkland Islands government said in a press release on Tuesday.

The crew abandoned the ship and some managed to get on board life rafts, the government said.

Some of those who boarded the life rafts have since been rescued, but the search for those still missing is ongoing, the statement said.

CNN has reached out to the Falkland Islands government for clarification on the number of dead and missing. “The situation is evolving and we will not be making any further comment,” Sally Heathman, communications director for the Falkland Islands government, told CNN on Tuesday.

Citing British and Spanish maritime authorities, the Associated Press reported that 14 people made it onto a life raft and were rescued by nearby fishing boats. At least six people have died and seven are still missing. At least 10 of the crew members have been identified as Spanish, AP reported.

According to the Falkland Islands government, the rescued people will be taken to the King Edward VII Memorial Hospital in the capital Stanley for medical examination.

A search and rescue operation using helicopters and ships began on Monday and will continue through the night into Tuesday.

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The Falkland Islands said a search and rescue helicopter attempted unsuccessfully to rescue crew members on Monday evening, but was thwarted due to “extremely difficult weather conditions and very limited time on site due to range.”

“The helicopter returned to Stanley Airport to refuel before a second attempt, but the weather continued to deteriorate and rotary-wing SAR operations were suspended,” it said.

In addition to the Falkland Islands Government, the Government of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, the Headquarters of the British Forces South Atlantic Islands, the UK Maritime & Coastguard Agency, the fishing vessel management company and other fishing vessels at sea are involved in the search and rescue operation.

“The Falkland Islands government is thinking of all the families affected,” it added.

The Argentine Navy also said it attempted search and rescue operations after being notified of the ship’s sinking.

The Falkland Islands, located about 300 miles east of the southern 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 calls Las Malvinas.

According to the Associated Press, the Argos Georgia is managed by Argos Froyanes Ltd, a privately owned British-Norwegian joint venture, and sailed under the flag of St. Helena, another British overseas territory in the South Atlantic.

“This accident underlines the severity of fishing activities and the sacrifices and risks faced by professional fishermen,” Carmen Crespo, chair of the European Parliament’s Fisheries Committee, said in a statement on Tuesday.

This is a developing story and will be updated.