Two dead, one missing after Spanish fishing vessel sinks off Cantabrian coast

The seven other crew members were rescued from the Santander-based Vilaboa Uno, which went down at dawn six nautical miles from the Cantabrian coast after taking on water.

‘There were 10 crew members on board. Seven were saved, one is missing and two are dead,’ regional leader Miguel Ángel Revilla wrote on Twitter.

One of the dead fishermen was Spanish and the other Ghanaian. The missing man was from Peru, said the government representative in Cantabria, Ainoa Quinones.

One of the rescued men was suffering from hypothermia, the head of the Santander marine rescue service, German Erostarbe, told public television TVE.

The Vilaboa Uno had sent out a distress signal at 04:10 am because ‘it was leaking and risked sinking’, he said.

The vessel went down so fast ‘the fishermen didn’t have time to get their lifeboat in the water’ and other fishing boats who went to their rescue had to haul them out of the sea.

Erostarbe said it was not ‘normal’ for a vessel like the Vilaboa Uno to sink so fast, especially as the weather had not been poor, and the Maritime Accidents Commission would launch an investigation.

Pesquero VILABOA UNO con 10 tripulantes (6mn N Santander) con vía de agua. Finalmente se hunde. Movilizadas de inmediato embarcaciones en zona, Salvamar Deneb y Helimer 202. Rescatadas 7 personas con vida. Recuperados 2 fallecidos. Se busca a 1 tripulante. Coordina CCS Santander pic.twitter.com/nLpxprk6Aq

— SALVAMENTO MARÍTIMO (@salvamentogob) April 3, 2023

Otra vez, una nueva desgracia en la Mar. Esta mañana a las 5:30 el Villaboa 1, con sede en Santander, ha naufragado frente a la costa de Cabo Mayor. Constaba de 10 tripulantes, 7 han sido rescatados hay un desaparecido y 2 fallecidos. DEP.

— Miguel Ángel Revilla (@RevillaMiguelA) April 3, 2023