Two sailors were rescued, while one is believed to have drowned after their yacht sank approximately 2 400km southwest of Cape Town last week.
Also read: NSRI rescues solo sailor from yacht near Yzerfontein
South Africa’s Maritime Rescue Co-ordination Centre saved the sailors on Wednesday from a life raft after it requested that a passing ship, a Marshall Island-flagged crude oil tanker named Front Pollux, divert its course to the location of the accident.
The sailors were en route to Cape Town from Tristan du Cunha on board their yacht, Nina Pope, as per TimesLive. According to Africa Ports, the vessel took on water about 2 400km west-southwest of Cape Town.
The South African Maritime Safety Authority (SAMSA) confirmed that the Front Pollux managed to recover two male survivors from a liferaft near the reported position despite challenging conditions such as wind speeds up to 74kph and sea swells of up to eight metres.
‘Unfortunately, a third seafarer, the skipper of the Nina Pope and a German national, could not be saved and is presumed to have gone down with the vessel,’ SAMSA stated.
‘The survivors, one with dual Swiss/US citizenship and the other Brazilian have since communicated with their respective embassies in Cape Town, facilitated by the Front Pollux.’
‘Both individuals did not require medical assistance and are currently en route to Cape Town. The National Sea Rescue Institute (NSRI) emergency operations centre (EOC) is assisting with their arrival early next week.’
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