2 dead, 1 missing after fishing boat sinks off northern Spanish coast

Santander, Spain, April 3 (EFE).- Two people have drowned and a third person was missing at sea after a fishing boat sank off the north coast of Spain, authorities said on Monday.

The remaining seven people who were on board have been rescued after the vessel capsized six miles north of the port city of Santander in the Cantabria region.

“Once again, a new disaster at sea,” Miguel Ángel Revilla, leader of Cantabria, said on Twitter.

“This morning at 5:30 am the Villaboa 1, based in Santander, was wrecked off the coast of Cabo Mayor,” Revilla added.

One of the deceased was identified as Spanish and the other was Ghanaian. The sailor who was missing is from Peru, the regional government reported.

According to sources from the rescue operation, one of the ship’s crew members was seriously injured.

The search continues for the missing crew member by sea and by air in an operation coordinated by the Maritime Safety and Rescue Society with the assistance of Spain’s Civil Guard.

The sea rescue agency said it received an alert from the sinking ship that water was leaking into the vessel at 4:10 am.

The cause of the accident remains unknown.

Sources from the Santander Fishermen’s Association told local media that the boat was not out fishing and that the sea was calm on Monday morning.EFE

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