All the 17 missing crew members of Russia's Onega vessel that sank in the Barents Sea are believed to be dead, while the condition of the two saved people is satisfactory, a spokesman for emergency services told Sputnik on Monday
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 28th December, 2020) All the 17 missing crew members of Russia's Onega vessel that sank in the Barents Sea are believed to be dead, while the condition of the two saved people is satisfactory, a spokesman for emergency services told Sputnik on Monday.
Earlier in the day, the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations announced that the vessel capsized and sank in the Barents Sea waters. Two people were saved, while searches for the other 17 individuals who were on board continue.
"Most likely, all 17 people died. They have not been found yet," the spokesman said, adding that water temperature is extremely low.
The condition of those saved is satisfactory, he added.
Later in the day, the Russian Federal Agency for Maritime and River Transport told Sputnik it had deployed four rescue vessels to the area.
"It [the vessel] sank early in the morning, abeam [at a distance of] 40 [nautical] miles of the coast of the Gusinaya Zemlya peninsula (the island of Novaya Zemlya). Two people out of 19 are saved. Four vessels have been deployed. The MRSC [Maritime Rescue Sub Center] Arkhangelsk is coordinating the SAR [search and rescue] operation," the agency said.
The transport department of the Russian Investigative Committee said it had opened a criminal probe into violation of water transport traffic safety rules after the incident.
The Northern fleet had sent the IL-38 aircraft to the search area in the Barents Sea, the Defense Ministry said.
"The IL-38 anti-submarine aircraft of the Northern Fleet's naval aviation unit from the duty forces flew to the Barents Sea area, where the fishing vessel Onega sank this morning," the ministry said, adding that the search and rescue operation is complicated by poor weather conditions.
Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin expressed his "deepest condolences to the families of those killed" in the boat crash during an online meeting with his deputies.
