Friday, 18th July 2008 - 12:45CET

UPDATE 3: Corpse identified as missing fisherman - second corpse found

(Adds second corpse, also thought to be missing fisherman, found)

A corpse recovered from the sea late yesterday belonged to Noel Carabott, 33, one of the fishermen missing for a week on board the Maltese fishing boat Simshar, informed sources said.

A second corpse was found in the sea this afternoon and is thought to have been another of the fishermen. The body was spotted by an AB212 helicopter of the Italian Military Mission. A Maltese fishing boat quickly arrived on site and a patrol boat is on the way,

The first body was located by a merchant ship 60 miles south west of Malta and was brought to Malta by a patrol boat early this morning. Mrs Carabott, the fisherman's wife, was asked to assist in the identification. It is understood that the corpse carried tattoos and a bracelet which helped in the identification.

The police in a statement this afternoon confirmed that the corpse was that of Mr Carabott and said the cause of that was asphyxia due to drowning.

The Simshar had been due to return to Marsaxlokk last Friday.

On board were Simon Bugeja, his father Carmelo, his 11-year-old son Theo, Noel Carabott and an Eritrean fisherman.

The fishermen had gone out to fish for tuna.

Aircraft from the Armed Forces of Malta and Italian and American units had scanned the sea between Malta and Lampedusa for days, as had Maltese patrol boats.

Comments

Corinne Vella (on 20/7/08)

L Galea: Somalia is not in the Mediterranean.

Helen Shamsabadi (on 20/7/08)

Simon is my cousin's husband and I hope he recovers from the burns he has suffered. We are praying for Teo and hope they find him alive for the sske of Simon and Sharon. I send my condolscences to the other fishermen who have died in this tragedy. Your Family in Australia are thinking of you all.
Love From Auntie Carmen, Charlie, All your Cousins & Family in Australia

Joanne Grima (on 19/7/08)

I am deeply saddened by the news of the passing of my cousin, Noel Carabott. My deepest sympathy to his wife, my aunty and uncle, cousins, other members of the family and friends. May you rest in peace Noel. Although I have never had the opportunity to meet you, know that your family here in Australia are shocked and saddened by your sudden passing. Our prayers and thoughts are with those in Malta left behind.

Sympathies also to the family and friends of the other fisherman who also passed as a result of this accident.

Doris Xerri (on 19/7/08)

It is devastating news to hear of the loss of my dear cousin, so far away, yet close to my heart. My sympathies to his wife, my aunt and uncle, cousins and all family members.

C.Catania (on 18/7/08)

my deepest sympathy for the victim's families. God Bless you all!

Charles DeMicoli (on 18/7/08)

Why are so many of you jumping to conclusions, mostly with sinister implications and thinly veiled bias? Boats and ships much larger than the Simshar disappear without a trace. Thank God one of the crew members survived and maybe by a miracle the boy will be found alive too. It seems to me that whatever happened was sudden because there was no mention of the fishermen wearing personal flotation devices. My condolences to the families of the deceased.

j.aquilina (on 18/7/08)

yes good news, at least they found one person alive. happy about it

Chris Borg (on 18/7/08)

It is already excluded that the boat could have suddenly sunk due to its safety devices that would have alerted such happening.

Maybe the search for the boat should take place in other regions since it is quite clear there is some monkey business.

Condolences to the families involved and hope and prayers for the rest of the missing persons.

g cauchi (on 18/7/08)

We remember that when they were reported missing, two earthquakes hit to the west of Gozo. Who knows maybe they were caught right in the middle of it, God help their souls, such a tragic loss.

Nigel (on 18/7/08)

I am devastated about what happened to my loving uncle Noel Carabott,He was a good man no one deserves to have there life end that way. Myauntie is a wreck she can't stop crying over him, We miss him verymuch,May you Rest in Peace my Loving Uncle, We will Never Forget you!!

Adrian Camilleri (on 18/7/08)

Could it be that this tragedy is similar to the one that happened in the 90s in Mellieha (L-Ahrax) ?

Anna Zammit (on 18/7/08)

what a tragic end, it's funny how things like these happen to good pepole. may god give all the strenght to the rest of the family . in our thoughts and prayers.

Anna Zammit

M Bonello (on 18/7/08)

May they rest in Peace

Manuel Micallef (on 18/7/08)

We can speculate forever what happened. I think we should leave this to the professionals.

Would be good though to think that whilst we are in Restaurants etc. enjoying nice fish, others have risked their lives to bring us this pleasure. A tribute to our fishermen and their families.

martin said (on 18/7/08)

May God be with his wife at this difficult moment and may he rest in peace.

L Galea (on 18/7/08)

Joe Vella,
you can never be sure when you are at sea.

Consider for a moment the piracy issue near Somalia.

Further comments are unnecessary.

guze xerri (on 18/7/08)

this is terrible news for the family.

L Galea (on 18/7/08)

It is inconceivable that our fishermen do not carry arms with them when they are on their own.

What about patrols by the AFM to protect our fishermen instead of being used for other purposes on which there is no need to elaborate?

apgrech (on 18/7/08)

Something is not kosher. Calm sea, fully equipped boat, apparently experience fishermen and contact seizes abruptly. The authorities should make an investigation on what truly happened.

Joseph Grima (on 18/7/08)

The thing is that had they been boarded and were in some kind of brawl, chances are that they fisherman wouldn't have drowned, and had there been any sort of violent encounters, an autopsy would have shown it more than clearly.

I do think that the boat might have collided with a larger vessel

Eric Psaila (on 18/7/08)

I think that the search should intensify now that the body of Mr Carabott has been found. So far there is no proof of foul play however there seems to be some doubt. How can a boat of that size disappear in thin air? How come no wreckage has been found? We need answers so that other fishermen can feel safe and well protected. So much resources are being deployed vis a vis illegal immigrants. Our fishermen deserve the same level of service. After all our fishermen are contributing towards the economy and paying their taxes.
Illegal immigrants only receive. Treat our fishermen equally . We all know how the Maltese police were treated by the authorities during the bus strike . We demand equal rights for the Maltese workers.

Joe Vella (on 18/7/08)

I do not believe that pirarcy is a problem at least in this area of the Medittererean Sea

Mark Brincat (on 18/7/08)

How did the crew not make any kind of contact whatsoever on what was happening?

Jeffrey Zammit (on 18/7/08)

I've heard persistent rumours that the boat was involved in a brawl with an Italian boat, just a week before. And I think that something has definitely happened. It's highly improbable that in such a fine weather the boat was overturned. Hitting a ship is also something to be considered very remote.

valerie scicluna (on 18/7/08)

the thought that they may have been boarded has been going through my head for quite some time. Now I see I was not the only one. Since no wreckage has been found and no storms reported in the area, the authorities of the respective countries ought to be on the look out for any suspicious looking boats entering their territory.

D Fenech (on 18/7/08)

What a tragic end! May God rest his soul!
One can only imagine what the poor wife and mother is going through!
May God grant her strength and may she get news of the other members on the boat!

Carmel Xerri (on 18/7/08)

The boat may have been hit by a ship, during the night and sunk.

James Sultana (on 18/7/08)

The issue is that even if their boat was taken over by someone, given that it has the latest technology on it, unless those who took it over know exactly what to do, it would have been very unlikely that they managed to disable all the locating equipment (from what I heard the vessel had one of those transponders which transmits its co-ordinates all the time, similar to what is present on airplanes, and this is located on the top of the vessel).

Denis Catania (on 18/7/08)

If apgrech is right. We must peotect our fisherman. This is a sad story.
Rest in peace Mr. Carobott.

A. Camilleri (on 18/7/08)

Pity... poor that women who suffered such a loss... It is strange that a vessel like that can't be found.. what if pirates are involved? Fisherman should be given the permission to carry shotguns or rifles on sea in order to protect themselves from such a thing, because out their at the sea they are on their own

apgrech (on 18/7/08)

This is very sad news. The story doesn't look like it was just an accident. Was their boat taken over by someone?

May God give strength to the families involved.

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UPDATE 3: Corpse identified as missing fisherman - second corpse found

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