FIVE CREW RESCUED FROM SINKING FISHING VESSEL OFF BOLT HEAD
Five
crew were rescued from a liferaft this evening after their fishing vessel
‘Chloe T’ began to sink 17 nautical miles south west of Bolt Head.
Brixham
Coastguard received a distress alert from the vessel at just before 4.20pm. The
vessel reported that they were taking on water in the engine room. They
immediately sent the RNLI lifeboat based at Salcombe and the Royal Navy Rescue
Helicopter from Culdrose to the scene. They broadcast a warning to vessels in
the area asking vessels in the vicinity to head for the scene. ‘Maersk Patras’,
‘Amber J’, ‘Brittany Ferry ‘Armorique’, ‘Dart Angler’ and ‘Lady Maureen’
responded.
After
the fishing vessel lost power and the pumps failed all the crew of the Penzance
based registered fishing vessel number TZ1186 took to the liferaft. The ferry
‘Armorique’ and ‘Maersk Partas’ reached the scene first and stood-by the liferaft
until the helicopter arrived and winched the crew to safety. The five crew are
now safely back on shore and Brixham Coastguard are liasing with the owner over
salvage of the vessel.
Brixham Coastguard Watch Manager David Colmer
said:
“The
actions of this crew almost certainly resulted in them all being rescued from
this dangerous situation. They called the Coastguard at an early stage, all
wore lifejackets and took to the life raft when the situation onboard
deteriorated.”
-Ends-