Rescue captain recounts fishermen's ordeal
The fishing boat Grecale, which rescued Simon Bugeja, the sole survivor of the Simshar, returned to Malta this morning.
Its master Mark Bugeja pointed to a raft which Simon fashioned in the water by lashing together four floats and a net containing empty bottles and other floating objects.
He said that Simon Bugeja explained that the Simshar caught fire and took some time to sink, during which time he managed to put some floating material together to form the raft. All the four-man crew and 11-year-old Theo were able to hang on to the raft and were able to rest on it, two at a time.
The first words Simon said on being rescued was that all the others had died. Theo, his son, passed away on Thursday and slipped from his tired arms on Friday morning, a few hours before the rescue.
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Victor Vella
Jul 23rd 2008, 20:41
The co2 was not used, the life raft did not work , there were no emergency flares used, if any where available, did the boat erupt in flames so fast that they did not have enough time to send out a distress call on the VHF? I sincerely hope that the enquiry is handled with seriousness and these and other questions answered. Lets stop kicking the AFM and asking the brigadier to remove his shirt and walk away. No JC in London the resignation will never come becasue it is not required.When the previous prime minister found that a resignation was required he caled for them and they happened but not in this case ,anyone willing to answer these questions before we ask for the resignation again?
Joe Caruana
Jul 23rd 2008, 17:39
Why is there someboby asking the brigadier to resign. He or/and whoever was responsible for this flop should be arrested and accused of involuntary manslaughter. In the same week you had people arrested and denied bail for not so peaceful protests, the likes of which happen everywhere in the world, and at the same time you are asking for just a resignation, which in my opinion will never arrive.
JC-London
Denis Catania
Jul 23rd 2008, 03:30
@ Corrine Vella, I would like to hear from the Times if I am right, but yes you are 100% right. It would have been appropriate to mention.
Corinne Vella
Jul 22nd 2008, 21:10
Denis Catania: If that is the reason the Somali man was not named, a statement to similar effect in news reports here would have been appropriate. He was reported to be Eritrean, then Ethiopian before finally being identified as Somali.
N Palmer
Jul 22nd 2008, 14:51
@Paul Zarb
Paul you raise very valid points, but I wouldn't be so hasty to say 'They Would Have Been Found'! Let us not forget that last month a pleasure craft sank that had amateur fishermen on board, they made the Mayday distress call on their VHF and were told position acknowledged, and we all know their fate!! No one came looking for them as they thought the call was a joke. In this case a Mayday would have raised the alert and hopefully provided position information to the closest ship/station.
Even with an EPIRB, a rescue is not initiated until a call is made to the the designated emergency contact in order to verify whether the vessel is in distress. Often that number is first the vessels satellite phone if available and then a relative on land, but a working activated EPIRB is a life saver, combined with a life raft and flares.
I totally agree with the points that you made concerning the equipment, but relying on just one piece of equipment is not enough, especially if that then fails. A working registered EPIRB or PLB and flares/strobe are in my humble opinion the most important items
Iosif Galea
Jul 22nd 2008, 08:34
I, ve known Malcolm Degabriele (the co pilot of Grecale) for the past 7 years. Malcolm, What a great job you have done saving Simon Bugeja's life together with the pilot Mark Bugeja. You showed courage, determination and stamina....
prayers are with the victims' families left behind
Ivan Gatt
Jul 21st 2008, 21:20
Why were not all private pilots asked to assist in the grid search? I do remember a few years ago that we had again been turned down when we had offered to help in another rescue operation concerning the loss of a Maltese registered aircarft....
Denis Catania
Jul 21st 2008, 20:10
@Mario Guaci Any respectable news agency will not publish his name until the family is notified. Mr Gedi name was published after notification.Maybe someone from the times can verify this.
In New York yesterday an athlete died competing in a triathlon. I'm going to read a quote from the New York Post.
"Race and law enforcement officials declined to immediately identify the fallen athlete, pending notification of his family in Argentina."
So this has nothing to do with his race. it's the right thing to do.
Donna Degaetano
Jul 21st 2008, 18:16
Why did the search for the Simshar only start on Saturday evening when the tracking device stopped transmitting on Thursday evening? Surely it's a sign that something is wrong when a tracking device stops functioning!
Why were the search members instructed to look for a boat and not for the possibility of people in the sea? If it had been taken into consideration the search would have been conducted differently!
How come the Italian helicopter did not spot Simon waving at him when it was supposedly looking for them?
My prayers are with the victim's families and may all the questions be answered properly so everyone can learn from any mistakes made.
Pauline Thompson
Jul 21st 2008, 17:15
No matter how much eduction is given - if it's not put into practise it's a complete waste of time. Same as everything else - look how many lives are lost through carelessness of driving, use of fire works - the list can go on and on. No good thinking that it will never happen to me because accidents happen all the time.
Paul Zarb
Jul 21st 2008, 15:27
Was a MAYDAY even sent out? They would have been found quickly.
If the life raft worked they would almost deifinitly survived and been found.
If they had flares the helicopter would have seen them and they would have been found.
If they had a EPIRB they would have been found.
If they had a hand held VHF they would have been able to continue to call for help and been found.
None of the above basic safety features seem to have been available. Only one of them was needed and they would have survived. Not even life jackets seem to have been available.
Dont blame the AFM!!
I think that more education on saftey at sea especially for fisherman who spend their lives out there is needed.
Adrian Said
Jul 21st 2008, 14:55
Can someone answer my question on why the patrol boats of the AFM didn't go out to look for the boat? If they go out for illegal immigrants (which I find nothing wrong in that) they should go out for MALTESE as well I think. Why did the AFM do the search only by planes/helicopters? As one can see, Simon was found thanks to a BOAT who went out to look for them. I think that such searches will be more fruitful when conducted from air AND sea. God be with the victims' relatives.
Mario Gauci
Jul 21st 2008, 14:54
I cannot, for the life of me, understand how not even one news paper or TV station bothered to get the unfortunate foreign fisherman's name and nationality right in a week. May his God grant him eternal rest.
Josephine Ebejer Grech
Jul 21st 2008, 13:27
1. Did the captain of "Grecale" say that they met an Italian Patrol Boat and they didn't know about the search????
2. Why didn't the helicopter that was flying over Simon and Teo help?
My whole family's thoughts and prayers are with the victims' families.
PaulZammit
Jul 21st 2008, 13:03
This captain of the Grecale should be recommended for the Gieh Ir-Republika, for saving the life of Simon Bugeja. Remember that a few years back, a police officer was given this medal for saving the life of an elderly woman, after which it was found that it was lie. Mr. President please note.
malcolm tortell
Jul 21st 2008, 12:57
I have to agree with M. Degiorgio's comments. While taking away nothing from the tragic loss of life let us learn something from this.
And as far as the criticisms of the AFM search go, anyone who has been to sea will tell you its not so easy to spot someone in the water, even if they fall off the boat you happen to be on. Its a big sea out there and all the more reason to be cautious.
L.Raynor
Jul 21st 2008, 12:47
I am so deeply sorry.What this poor man must have gone through is beyond belief.My condolences to all the families involved in this tragedy.May you find it within yourselves.in time,to get beyond all the anguish and pain that you must be going through now.No words of mine can help you much but you must know that we all feel for you and our thoughts are with you.
Amanda Mallia
Jul 21st 2008, 11:55
M Degiorgio - Your questions are very valid. Unfortunately, too many sea-faring people think that it "won't happen to them". This is not the 1st, but at least the 2nd such case that I can remember, the 1st being one in which a close relative & another man were victims, & whose bodies have still not been traced to this very day.
Like the Simshar case, rumour then had it that the liferaft "didn't open". (The owner of the yacht was in fact found with another survivor - now dead - on a dinghy.) Rumours were later going round that owners of "neighbouring" vessels in the yacht marina knew that the life-raft on such yacht needed servicing or something, & had even offered their own life rafts to the yacht's owner prior to their departure on the ill-fated trip. Unfortunately, such rumours cannot be verified, both such "neighbours" having since died, at least 1 of them himself under awful circumstances. The owner of the ill-fated vessel, as in this case, is the sole remaining survivor. I sincerely hope that this sad story will inspire him to clarify the various inconsistencies about what happened on that fateful nght in June 1990.
Anthony Farrugia
Jul 21st 2008, 11:23
As with most tragic tales, here there may be lessons to learn. Such an accident could happen to anyone at sea and for those who venture far from shore the risks are greater. If such vessels were by law required to be equipped with homing devices (EPIRB) that are activated upon hitting the water, then that would enable fast recovery and prevent loss of life. We are all the wiser after the event, but if such measures are put in place then this horrific loss for the families concerned may help to save others from a similar fate.
My thoughts and prayers are with the victims' families left behind, that somehow with God's grace they may find solace.
Mike Farrugia
Jul 21st 2008, 10:54
I hope that some lessons be learnt from this tragedy. Are safety equipment tested regularly on board sea vessels? Why did so many things malfunction? Is there a body responsible to monitor the positions of ships equipped with satellite navigation systems like the Simshar had?
Lets not point fingers but make sure that this does not happen again, ever.
Pierer Agius
Jul 21st 2008, 10:45
Perhaps it is the case for a national day of mourning. It is the best way to demonstrate our solidarity with the tragedy stricken families.
M.Degiorgio
Jul 21st 2008, 10:29
Really sad, however I can't help thinking; apparently they had time to build an emergency raft with buoyant bits and pieces around them before the boat sunk. So strange! What about the mandatory security lifesaving equipment which should be on board! Wasn’t the boat equipped? If not, why so? And again, if so, why was the vessel allowed to take to the sea by the authorities? On the other hand if this equipment is not obligatory, why not? I thought international and European legislations oblige to this?
If the boat was equipped even with the smallest model of an automatic inflatable life raft, the chances are that this dreadful ordeal would never have happened. These life rafts are always equipped with rations and all the other necessary material to help being located and keep alive and until help arrives.
Can somebody enlighten us on the Maltese maritime law concerning obligatory security equipment to be on this type of fishing vessel, whether private or not?
Nadia Camilleri
Jul 21st 2008, 10:08
Condolences to all involved; may God help you and your families through this tragedy.
But still, some explanation needs to be given especially by our authorities about the procedures used for rescue. There are a lot of ifs and buts to be answered by those who are responsible.
So please, set up a proper enquiry and let the truth be know and take adequate measures so that this does not happen again.
J.Darmanin
Jul 21st 2008, 09:38
Had the AFM taken the rescue more seriously, maybe Teo, the 11 year old would have survived this and not died a painful death, maybe they all would have survived. I can only imagine what Teo's father felt seeing his own son die in his arms, probably due to dehydration and injury from the explosion. Too many missed, so called attempts to rescue people have occurred lately where the AFM is singled out at not doing what its supposed to. The AFM commander should hand in his resignation, there is no other option, you have lost the respect of us Maltese. Go and.
Condolences to the families who have lost their loved ones in this ordeal.
Mauro Vella
Jul 21st 2008, 09:29
This story breaks my heart, I can only imagine what the families of the victims are feeling.
I would like to offer my condolences to all their friends and families, and to all friends and families of Mr. Bugeja please care for him as he has been to hell and back and no person should ever go through what he went through. My thoughts are with all of you.