BRAZIL: Canadians are rescued after ship sinks off the coast of Brazil

Record ID: 376624

  • Title: BRAZIL: Canadians are rescued after ship sinks off the coast of Brazil
  • Date: 20th February 2010
  • Summary: RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL (FEBRUARY 19, 2010) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF EXTERIOR OF BRAZILIAN NAVY DISTRICT VARIOUS OF ADMIRAL GILBERTO MAX TALKING TO REPORTERS (SOUNDBITE) (Portuguese) ADMIRAL GILBERTO MAX, SAYING: "When the aircraft arrived there (where the Canadian ship sank) yesterday, around 7 p.m., 8 p.m., it spotted a raft with survivors who sent out smoke and light sign
  • Embargoed: 7th March 2010 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Brazil
  • Country: Brazil
  • Topics: Disasters / Accidents / Natural catastrophes
  • Reuters ID: LVA7X5W05J2QV17BW0JQ5BAVYIEE
  • Story Text: A Canadian vessel with dozens of students sank off the coast of Brazil and all 64 people on board were rescued, a Brazilian Navy official said on Friday (February 19).
    The traditional tall ship named the Concordia, from the Canadian West Island College International, sent out an emergency signal on Thursday evening after going through a windstorm while heading from the country's northeastern city of Recife to the Uruguayan capital Montevideo.
    A Brazilian Air Force aircraft spotted life rafts with survivors floating about 300 miles off the coast of Rio de Janeiro a couple of hours later.
    "When the aircraft arrived there (where the Canadian ship sunk) yesterday, around 7 p.m., 8 p.m., it spotted a raft with survivors who sent out smoke and light signals, and it (the aircraft) reported that to us. After that we asked the merchant ships that were nearby to get closer to the area, we told them there were rafts with survivors," said Admiral Gilberto Max.
    Three merchant vessels that were nearby were asked to help in the rescue of the passengers and crew of the Concordia ship.
    Due to the bad weather, the survivors were only plucked from the sea early on Friday.
    "The information I have is that there was a very strong wind, a windstorm and the ship capsized and sank. This is what I know. There is a low pressure area, where there are very strong winds, which naturally agitate the sea and can cause such thing or a storm. It's just like what we see on the movies - it can also happen in the real world," Max told reporters.
    All the 64 people on board were rescued and are expected to arrive in Rio de Janeiro on Saturday morning.
    Among the passengers and crew were citizens from Canada, Australia, the United States, Japan, Germany, France, England, Mexico, New Zealand and Poland.
    The ship was a part of a "Class Afloat" program and departed from Canada in September.
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