Rescue operation underway as ship carrying 27 sinks off coast of Falkland Islands
The fishing vessel, FV Argos Georgia, requested assistance soon after it began sinking about 200 miles east of the islands in the South Atlantic at about 4 p.m. local time Monday, the Falkland Islands government said in press release Tuesday.
The crew abandoned ship and some managed to board life rafts, the government said.
Some of those who boarded the life rafts have since been rescued, but a search is continuing for those still missing, the statement said.
CNN has reached out to the Falkland Islands government to clarify the number of dead and missing. “This is a developing situation, and we will provide no further comment,” Sally Heathman, head of communications for the Falkland Islands Government, told CNN on Tuesday.
Those who have been rescued will be taken to the King Edward VII Memorial Hospital in the capital Stanley for medical assessments.
A search and rescue operation involving helicopters and vessels began on Monday and will continue throughout the night on Tuesday.
The release said that a search and rescue helicopter had unsuccessfully attempted to rescue crew members on Monday evening but was thwarted due to “extremely challenging weather conditions and very limited time on scene due to range.”
“The helicopter returned to Stanley Airport to refuel prior to a second attempt but the weather worsened further, and rotary wing SAR operations were suspended,” it added.
In addition to the Falkland Islands Government, the search and rescue operation involves the government of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, HQ British Forces South Atlantic Islands, the UK Maritime & Coastguard Agency, the management company of the fishing vessel, and other fishing vessels at sea, the release said.
“The Falkland Islands Government sends their thoughts to all the families involved,” it added.
Argentina’s Navy said it had also attempted search and rescue operations after being alerted about the ship’s sinking.
The Falkland Islands, which lie about 300 miles east of the 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 refers to as Las Malvinas.
“This accident highlights the harshness of fishing activity and the sacrifice and risk that sea professionals experience,” said Carmen Crespo, chair of the Committee on Fisheries, for the European Parliament in a statement on Tuesday.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
The FV Argos Georgia incident has drawn concern from various nations around the Americans and the world. The Falkland Islands Government, along with South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, HQ British Forces South Atlantic Islands, the UK Maritime & Coastguard Agency, and other international entities, have joined forces in the search and rescue operation.
