Canada, willing to resume the search for the disappeared when weather conditions allow it

The Canadian ship that transports the lifeless bodies of two fishermen recovered from the sinking of the Spanish fishing boat Villa de Pitanxo has arrived this Friday at the port of San Juan de Terranova.

The three survivors of the tragedy, the skipper Juan Enrique Padín Costas, his nephew Eduardo Rial Padín and the Ghanaian sailor Samuel Kwesi Koufie, as well as the bodies of seven of their companions are being transported by the Spanish fishing boat Menduina Beach 2which is scheduled to arrive this Saturday morning.

The delay in the arrival of the Spanish ship is a consequence of the bad weather conditions around the island of Newfoundland, where hurricane-force wind gusts of up to 120 kilometers per hour and heavy rains are currently being recorded.

After the mooring to the dock of the Canadian ship, the nexusthe disembarkation of the bodies of the deceased for identification as a preliminary step to their repatriation.

The Villa de Pitanxowhich sank early Tuesday in the waters of the Grand Bank of Newfoundland, about 460 kilometers east of San Juan, had a crew of 24 people, of which 12 remain missing.

Of the 24 crew members, 16 are Spanish, five Peruvians and three Ghanaians.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs, EU and Cooperation, José Manuel Albares, has indicated this Friday that the Canadian Government has expressed its “will” to resume the search for the missing sailors after the sinking of the Villa de Pitantxo off the coast of Newfoundland, “as soon as weather conditions permit.”

The minister stressed that the search had to be suspended due to adverse weather conditions, “with waves of more than 8 meters, very short visibility and temperatures of 3 degrees below zero that make it practically impossible to continue the search and even put at risk life of the rescue teams”.