17 presumed dead after the sinking of a Russian fishing boat – VG

Two people are said to have been rescued, while 17 are missing after the sinking of the “Onega” fishing boat.

A source in the Russian Crisis Ministry told the news agency that they assume the 17 missing have died.

– As far as we know now, there are no survivors, except for the two who were rescued. The ice-covered vessel immediately sank during a storm, which left almost no one the chance of being rescued in the icy water, the source told Tass.

The two who were rescued are a sailor and a navigator, according to Tass. They are both Russian citizens and the rest of the crew are also Russian.

Difficult search

Authorities were notified of the accident at 5.30 a.m. on Monday.

Five ships have been dispatched to the area and search work is underway.

– So far, two people have been picked up alive, wearing wet suits, but not with the rest, a source from the crisis ministry told Tass.

According to the source, bad weather in the area should mean that no planes or helicopters can be used in the search.

Last call in Kirkenes

The main rescue center in northern Norway informs NTB that their Russian colleagues notified them of the accident, but that they will not take any action as it happened in Russian waters.

The fishing boat’s last stop in the harbor was in Kirkenes on December 14, according to Marinetraffic. The ship is based in Murmansk.

The “Onega” fishing boat was built in 1979 and has a load capacity of 208 tons.