MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Polish yacht grounded in Beagle channel with loss of two crew members

Ushuaia Search and Rescue centre located the yacht and survivors

The bodies of two crew members from a Polish flagged yacht that grounded in the Beagle Channel, extreme south of Argentina, have been recovered by Argentine naval patrols, reported late Tuesday the Ushuaia based Search and rescue centre.

‘Nashachata’ with a crew of seven sent out a May day stress call early Monday when it was returning from a south seas and Antarctic tour and apparently the engine went out in the midst of a storm with gale strong winds and 4/5 metres waves.

The stranded vessel somehow managed to reach the eastern area of the Beagle channel where it grounded but the huge waves swept overboard Captain Marek Radwanski and his brother Pawel. Late Monday an Argentine navy patrol located the vessel with its main mast fallen and sighted the remaining crew on land but could not approach them or send dinghies because of climate conditions.

Tuesday morning a landing party finally reached the survivors who reported the missing crew members. The Ushuaia Search and Rescue centre immediately dispatched a speed patrol with marines and Zodiacs to survey the area.

“Medical staff with first aid equipment cared for the survivors while the yacht insurers sent out a helicopter to help with the search of the missing crew members and make an evacuation if necessary”, reported the Argentine Navy.

The speed boat recovered one of the bodies but the second had to be air lifted because of sea and wind conditions.

The first distress message from the Polish yacht was received by the Search and rescue sub-centre at the Chilean port of Puerto Williams which immediately transmitted the situation to Ushuaia officials given the Argentine jurisdiction of the incident.