The search has been suspended for the missing crew of the sunken Spanish ship off the coast of Newfoundland.
The Joint Rescue Co-ordination Centre in Halifax has confirmed after more than 36-hours of scouring icy and rough seas efforts have been called off.
Twelve crew members remain missing and nine have been confirmed dead.
Regrettably, at 4 pm AST, based on the results of the exhaustive search by a significant number of SAR aircraft and vessels over the last 36+ hours, a search covering over 900 sq NM, the search for the 12 missing fishers aboard the FV Villa de Pitanxo has been suspended.
— HfxJRCC_CCCOS (@hfxjrcc) February 16, 2022
Three were rescued on Tuesday in their lifeboat.
The case is being turned over to RCMP as a missing persons at sea investigation.
Aerial video of the Search conditions on the Grand Banks, NL. 3/3 @RCAF_ARC @RCAFOperations @CFOperations @CoastGuardCAN pic.twitter.com/Y4Ot8PqaWy
— HfxJRCC_CCCOS (@hfxjrcc) February 16, 2022
The 24-member crew included 16 Spainards, five Peruvians, and three Ghanaians.
