French prosecutors have confirmed that the bodies of two fishermen missing since their trawler sank in the English Channel have been recovered by divers. Alex Dehays, deputy prosecutor in Saint-Brieuc, said the remains were found on Saturday after improved weather conditions allowed search teams to return to the area. Divers had been unable to reach the sunken vessel earlier due to rough seas.
How the Maranello Went Down
According to BBC, the Maranello, a French fishing trawler, sent a distress call at around 18:00 BST on August 29 after its crew reported trouble with the fishing gear while operating off the coast of Plymouth. A nearby vessel, the Stradale, responded and pulled three of the five crew members to safety before the Maranello went under. Two crew members could not be reached in time.
A major search and rescue operation was launched in the waters south-west of the Eddystone Lighthouse, involving HM Coastguard, Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) lifeboats, and French maritime authorities. The operation was suspended after two days when conditions deteriorated, though rescuers had by then located the sunken trawler.
Search Resumes After Weather Clears
Poor weather prevented dive teams from getting down to the wreck once it was located. When conditions improved sufficiently, divers returned to the site and recovered both bodies, bringing the search operation to a close. No further information on the identities of the two deceased fishermen was immediately available from prosecutors.
Related Incident: Ferry Capsizes Near Cyprus
Legit.ng earlier reported that a passenger ferry capsized near the coast of northern Cyprus on Sunday, August 30, killing at least seven people, with hundreds more pulled from the water following a major rescue operation. The death toll was confirmed by Unal Ustel, prime minister of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), according to Turkish state media. Ustel added that around 237 people had been rescued by the time of the report. The vessel had departed from the port of Kyrenia, also known as Girne, and was heading towards Tasucu, a port in the southern Turkish province of Mersin, when it went down.
