It was 5:50 a.m. this Monday, January 20 when the Etel Cross (1) was notified by a distress beacon of the sinking of a fishing boat off the coast of Saint-Denis-d'Oléron and La Brée-les -Baths. The Dauphin helicopter of the French Navy and the SNS 144 IMA Antioche rescue boat from La Rochelle were mobilized. Notified at 6:15 a.m., five people boarded the speedboat under the command of SNSM station manager Philippe Machefaux. The speedboat took 30 minutes to reach the area where it remained until 1 p.m. Firefighters also rushed to the scene.
A crushing second
The Boyardville fishing boat, a gillnet called “Rose des vents”, was overturned by a wave around 3 a.m. while two people were on board: the skipper and a sailor. Initially, the two men managed to perch on the upturned hull for several minutes before a new wave put them back in the water. The fisherman once again managed to climb onto the hull of the boat, unlike his teammate who he lost sight of.
He was then able to swim back to shore before taking refuge in a house from which the firefighters, then the Cross d'Etel, were alerted at 6:30 a.m. of the capsizing. The sailor was actively searched for throughout the morning: the Civil Security Dragon 17 helicopter took over before a new rotation of the Dauphin. The Atlantic maritime prefecture also reports that nearby boats “completed the sea search system”.
“The weather conditions were very bad,” emphasizes Philippe Machefaux.
-The body of the deceased, a 22-year-old man, was located by Dragon 17 at 12:26 p.m. and was declared dead at 2:05 p.m. The survivor of the sinking, slightly injured, was transported to Rochefort hospital. The boat ran aground on the beach of La Brée-les-Bains.
(1) Regional operational surveillance and rescue center.
