The remaining crew of a trawler which sank near the coast of Norway on Wednesday have still not been found, and are presumed dead. The captain, who was rescued, managed to survive only because of the protective gear he was wearing.
As reported, the trawler – on its way to Norway to be turned into scrap iron – landed in bad weather and very quickly sank, some 270 nautical miles from the coast of Norway. Automatic distress signals alerted both Icelandic and Norwegian rescue teams, who deployed ships and helicopters to search for the four-man crew.
In the end, only one crew member was found. The remaining three are presumed to have perished at sea. Memorial services will be held today in Njarðvík and Grafarvogur in their honour.
Olve Arnes, one of the Norwegian helicopter pilots in the rescue effort, believes that the only reason why the rescuee was able to survive was because he was wearing a protective undersuit and life vest, RÚV reports. Otherwise, the cold temperatures and waves measuring up to 15 metres would have very quickly taken him under.
Rescue efforts were in part frustrated by logistics. The helicopters are able to fly for up to five hours without needing fuel, but it took three hours to fly to the scene, leaving only half an hour to search for the crew.
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