Deckhand Dies in Fishing Vessel Capsizing off La Rochelle

 

French rescuers have recovered the body of a fisherman who died in a capsizing off Ile d'Oleron on Monday morning.

At about 0550 hours on Monday morning, the French SAR center at Etel (Cross d'Etel) received an EPIRB alert from the gillnetter Rose des Vents at a position off Ile d'Oleron, in the Bay of Biscay. The French Navy mobilized a rescue helicopter, and rescue society SNSM dispatched a response boat out of the nearby port of La Rochelle. 

The Rose des Vents had been capsized by a heavy wave earlier that morning. The two crewmembers, the skipper and a 22-year-old deckhand, survived the capsizing. They climbed atop the upturned hull, which continued to be battered by waves in the rough conditions. After a few minutes, a wave swept them off the hull; the skipper hung on and made it back on top, but the deckhand disappeared. 

The boat was close enough to shore that the skipper managed to swim to safety and self-rescue on shore. He reached a house at about 0630 and notified the local fire department of the capsizing - and the missing deckhand. 

The search for the missing man continued with support from a civil defense helicopter aircrew. Good Samaritans assisted the search on the water, despite very poor weather conditions. At about 1230 hours, the helicopter aircrew found the deckhand, who was unresponsive; he was declared dead at 1400 hours.