Fishing boat sinks despite salvage attempt

Attempts to rescue a sinking fishing boat off Lampedusa were abandoned early yesterday morning because of bad weather.

A spokesman for the Armed Forces of Malta said the Giuseppe Castano began taking in a lot of water after pumps used in the rescue stopped working.

Moreover, an Italian army vessel that was meant to refuel the fishing boat had to stop because of the rough seas.

The crew of seven were evacuated by dinghy and tow lines were cut.

Eventually, the Giuseppe Castano sank about 15 nautical miles east of Lampedusa.

The Maltese Rescue Coordination Centre on Wednesday received a distress call from the fishing boat when it was about 52 nautical miles south west of Malta. A military helicopter and patrol boat were immediately sent to assist the boat and were later joined by Italian and French military ships.