FIsherman Survives By Clinging to Half-Sunken Boat in S. Atlantic

Courtesy Argentine Naval Prefecture

PUBLISHED JUL 17, 2024 10:15 PM BY THE MARITIME EXECUTIVE

 

Last weekend, a fisherman miraculously survived by clinging to the bow of his half-sunken vessel off the coast of Mar del Plata, according to Argentina's coast guard.

On Saturday night at about 2130 hours, the Argentine Naval Prefecture's rescue coordination center received a distress signal from the sport fishing vessel Proa al Sol II. The boat was located about 30 nautical miles off Mar del Plata, and a coast guard cutter - the Buenos Aires - and a helicopter were dispatched to the scene. Good Samaritan vessels were also asked to assist. 

At about 2350 hours, the merchant bulker NKR Alice arrived and found a half-sunken vessel with one survivor clinging to the bow. The crew radioed in their discovery, and a coast guard helicopter arrived and rescued the survivor, who was in shock and suffering from hypothermia. 

Survivor Nicolás Banda, 40, told local outlet La Capital that "I felt like I was dying and I was reborn" in the cold South Atlantic water. "I thought every two minutes that I was going to die," he said. Banda recovered and has been discharged from the hospital. 

Crewmembers Iván Rohen and Martín Parodi remain missing, and Banda reported that he had seen them sink below. The Argentine Naval Prefecture resumed a search with surface assets on Monday with the cutter Prefecto Fique, which is conducting a sonar sweep. So far, the crews have recovered a boot, a backpack and a life jacket belonging to the Proa al Sol.

The cause of the sinking is under investigation.