10 Bodies Recovered in Search for Sunken Fishing Trawler

Searchers have recovered 10 bodies in the search for crew members from a sunken Spanish fishing trawler on the Grand Banks of Newfoundland.

Three survivors have been rescued.

An EPIRB was activated from the FV Villa de Pitanxo, with 24 crew members, just after midnight Tuesday morning approximately 280 miles (450 km) east of St. John’s.

A search involving Canadian assets and nearby fishing vessels have located and recovered 10 deceased crew members and three survivors. Eleven remain missing.

The search involves the Canadian vessels Cygnus and Nexus, along with the Spanish fishing vessel, Rio Caxil, and Portuguiese fishing vessel Franca Da More. The vessels are expected to be joined today by three additional Portuguese fishing vessels, one Spanish fishing vessel, and two Canadian aircraft.

Conditions in the area are reported as 25 knot winds, seas of six to seven meters, and good visibility.

Rescuers on Tuesday reported seeing debris in the water.

The 50-meter FV Villa de Pitanxo is based out of Galicia, in northwestern Spain. Its crew is made up of 16 Spaniards, five Peruvians and three Ghanaian.

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