The search for five missing men from athe "Swanland" that sank in the Irish Sea on Nov 27, 2011, has been called off for the evening.
British coastguards have acknowledged that at this stage the operation is now about recovering bodies as opposed to finding survivors. The search for the five missing Russians had resumed at first light at 8 a.m in the morning of Nov 28. Most of the efforts were concentrated on a 210km stretch of Welsh coastline, where 11 teams from the Holyhead coastguard scoured the shoreline with the help of a police helicopter. The Irish Coastguard and Navy assisted in the search on Nov 27 but their involvement was not requested on Nov 28.
The survivors had reported the hull had cracked about 45 km northwest of the Welsh Lleyn peninsula after the ship was hit by an “enormous” wave, causing it to roll over and beeaking in half. It sank within 15 minutes.
The "Swanland" had arrived at Raynes Jetty in Workington port on Nov 24 and unloaded stone before leaving on Nov 25. Workington was its last port of call. Three Irish Coast Guard helicopters, the Naval Service patrol ship "LE Roisín" and an Air Corps Casa maritime patrol aircraft were tasked by Holyhead Coast Guard in one of the largest joint rescues undertaken by Irish and British rescue agencies in the Irish Sea.
Eerder gezien als Artemis, die nu als Swanland is vergaan.
in de Velser Kom op 18 april 1994
© Kees Heemskerk
The Irish units worked with RAF Valley and Chivenor search and rescue helicopters and RNLI lifeboats from Pwllheli and Porthdinllaen, along with other vessels in the area. The helicopters refuelled at the RAF Valley station. Rescue attempts ended before darkness last night. The two survivors were wearing immersion suits with strobe lighting. Five of the crew were on deck and three were below, including the captain, engineer and first mate. It was believed they had no time to escape and were among the five still missing last night. The RNLI reported two liferafts and some floating debris on the sea surface when their lifeboats arrived on the scene, but there was no sign of the ship.
The "Swanland" was carrying 3,000 tonnes of limestone to Cowes on the Isle of Wight. An investigation into the sinking is expected to focus on weather factors and the extent of the swell in the Irish Sea, the ship’s maintenance history and the layout of the cargo on board. It was expected that any pollution risk from the ship’s hull would be monitored by the British authorities.
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