A Maritime Rescue team and a Civil Guard patrol rescued 14 sailors on the high seas this Friday from the fishing boat María Reina Madre that sank around 2:30 p.m. nine miles off the coast of Pasaia (Basque Country).
The boat, with a French flag and 25 meters in length, left yesterday at midnight from the Galician port of Burela, in Lugo, to head to France to fish for hake. However, before continuing sailing, they had to pass through the Gipuzkoa port for a periodic and ordinary check of the radio and safety devices.
Around 9:00 a.m., when they were about fourteen kilometers from the coast, the crew realized that a leak had opened in the engine room. The members of the ship then raised the alarm and jumped into the lifeboat until the rescue teams arrived.
At that time, the Maritime Rescue Coordination Center in Bilbao mobilized the ‘Salvamar Orión’ boat, as well as the Río Sella boat of the Civil Guard. They also sent the Helimer 211 helicopter and the María de Maeztu tugboat. However, five and a half hours after the warning, the fishing boat ended up sinking.
According to the Government delegate in Euskadi, Denis Itxaso, the crew members have not seen their lives in danger at any time: “Let’s say that the fear or all the concern, which at this moment is purely material, is not personal in any case.” . Likewise, he affirms that at the moment no polluting discharge is seen as a result of the accident.
