International
At least three dead in the fishing vessel sunk in the Falkland Islands with Galician crew members
At least three crew members have died in the accident of the fishing boat ‘Argos Georgia’, which sank in the Malvinas Islands on Monday, according to the Government Delegation in Galicia.
According to information transferred by the maritime authorities of the Falklands to the Spanish ones, the fishing boat ‘Puerto Toro’ has recovered two corpses and the ‘Robin M. Lee’, based in Cangas (Pontevedra), has rescued a survivor and a lifeless body.
Currently, operations are being carried out to recover the survivors of another life raft.
The bad weather conditions in the area have prevented the takeoff of helicopters for the rescue, a decision that is reviewed every hour in case there is a possibility of the aircraft operating, and have also hindered the tasks of the fishing vessels that have come to the aid of the crew of the ‘Argos Georgia’.
In the area, in addition to the two fishing boats, a patrol boat and a plane are deployed.
The ship, as it has transpired, would carry Russian, Indonesian, Uruguayan and Peruvian crew members.
The Maritime Authority of the Falkland Islands received information on Monday afternoon that the fishing boat, with 27 people on board, requested assistance about 200 miles east of Stanley.
Ten Spaniards were on board the fishing boat Argos Georgia which, with 27 crew members, including the captain, has sunk in the early hours of the Falkland Islands, the Government delegate in Galicia, Pedro Blanco, has confirmed.
As he told reporters on a visit to Redondela (Pontevedra), he specified that among the ten Spaniards are the captain of the ship, the fishing skipper, the cook, the two machine operators and two oceanographic observers.
Blanco has specified that by the surnames “it seems that there are Galicians” on board, although he is pending to determine how many.
Knowing the facts, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs established “permanent contact” with its consulates in Buenos Aires (Argentina) and London (United Kingdom) to follow the rescue operation of the crew of the sunken fishing vessel. This was confirmed by Minister José Manuel Albares at a press conference.
In addition to the ten Spanish crew members, 8 Russians, 2 Uruguayans, 2 Peruvians and 5 Indonesians were traveling on the ship, according to local media.
The Falkland Islands Maritime Authority received information on Monday that the fishing vessel Argos Georgia requested assistance when it was about 200 miles east of Stanley, the capital of the archipelago.
According to the Malvinas authority, after the ship’s alert and despite the difficult maritime conditions, a rescue operation was carried out with aerial and surface means, including the BFSAI A-400, BFSAI search and rescue helicopters, FPV Lilibet, as well as two fishing boats.
Among those trawlers who have come to the rescue, in fact, there is one from Cangas (Pontevedra), although belonging to a mixed society, according to sources from the Government Subdelegation in Pontevedra.
Blanco added in his appearance that the crew members made use of the lifeboats.
According to this statement from the Falkland authorities, communications were quickly established between the Government of the Islands, the Government of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, the headquarters of the British Forces in the South Atlantic Islands, the United Kingdom Maritime and Coast Guard Agency, the fishing vessel company and other vessels.
The Argos Georgia, built in 2018, belongs to the British-Norwegian shipowner Argos Froyanes, with more than 30 years of experience in the fishing sector.
After the first operation, the Government of the Falkland Islands announced that it will resume the rescue of the 27 crew members of the sunken ship when the weather improves.
According to a statement, the BFSAI A-400M Atlas helicopter was the first to come to the scene and was able to “monitor and report” the position of the lifeboats.
Meanwhile, the fishing vessel FPV Lilibet and two other boats arrived “at the highest speed” at the location last night to begin the “rescue operations.”
Similarly, operating in adverse conditions, a search and rescue helicopter (SAR) of the British military contingent in the Falkland Islands tried to recover the personnel from the scene during the night of Monday “without success”, due to “extreme weather conditions and limited time.”
The helicopter returned to Stanley airport to refuel before a second attempt, “but the weather got even worse” and the rescue operations were then suspended, according to the note.
The weather conditions on Tuesday imply that the area is still “out of the limits” of helicopter operations, but “the situation is being reviewed regularly with a view to resuming operations as soon as possible.”
International
Mexican government prioritizes 191 communities after deadly floods
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum confirmed on Wednesday that the death toll from recent rains and floods across several central states has risen to 66, while the federal government has activated air bridges and prioritized assistance in 191 isolated communities.
“Unfortunately, 66 people have died, and 75 remain missing,” the president said during her morning press conference. She added that the official death toll will be updated later in a new report.
As of Tuesday, authorities had reported 64 fatalities. Sheinbaum also announced the creation of a public information center to centralize official data on the deceased, missing persons, damaged homes, and cut-off communities.
According to the president, the number of missing persons has decreased thanks to coordination with state authorities.
“Through calls to phone line 079, 103 people who had been reported missing have now been located,” she explained.
Priority Municipalities
The president noted that the federal government has classified 191 communities as ‘priority’, a designation based mainly on the percentage of homes affected.
International
New road and bridge explosions raise alarm amid indigenous protests in Ecuador
Ecuadorian authorities are investigating two explosions that occurred early Wednesday, one on a road in the southern part of the country and another under a bridge in Guayas province. These incidents follow the car bomb explosion in the coastal city of Guayaquil, also in Guayas, which occurred the day before and left one person dead and 30 injured.
Press reports indicate that one person was injured and several vehicles were damaged in the explosion on the Cuenca-Girón-Pasaje road in the south.
“Besides yesterday’s explosion in Guayaquil, we have received reports of explosives placed on bridges along the Guayaquil-Machala and Machala-Cuenca routes to disrupt traffic,” said Roberto Luque, Minister of Infrastructure and Transport (MIT).
On his X social media account, Luque reported that authorities have been deployed to the sites to assess the damage and determine the current condition of the structures.
“What they haven’t achieved with their call for a strike, some are trying to achieve through terrorism,” he stated, referring to the 24 days of protests organized by the Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities (Conaie) against rising diesel prices and other demands.
The protests, called at a national level, have Imbabura province as their epicenter. Roadblocks have also been reported in the northern part of Pichincha province, whose capital is Quito, while activities in the rest of the country continue normally.
International
Armed forces target illegal mines in Northern Ecuador with bombing raids
Ecuador’s Armed Forces carried out an operation on Monday — including airstrikes — against illegal mining in the town of Buenos Aires, in the country’s north, Defense Minister Gian Carlo Loffredo reported.
The mountainous, gold-rich area has been a hotspot for illegal mining since 2017, located in the Andean province of Imbabura.
In 2019, former president Lenín Moreno deployed around 2,400 soldiers to the region in an attempt to curb the illegal activity. “The operation began with mortar fire, followed by gunfire and bombing runs by Supertucano aircraft,” Loffredo said in a video released by the Defense Ministry.
He added that the operation would continue on Tuesday with patrols across the area to locate possible members of “irregular armed groups that may have crossed from the Colombian border.”
The Armed Forces stated on X that the intervention focused on the “complete elimination of multiple illegal mining tunnels” in the areas known as Mina Nueva and Mina Vieja.
The operation coincided with the deployment of a military and police convoy into Imbabura, which has been the epicenter of protests against President Daniel Noboa since September 22, following his decision to scrap the diesel subsidy.
Mexican government prioritizes 191 communities after deadly floods
New road and bridge explosions raise alarm amid indigenous protests in Ecuador
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