The Armada Colombia rescued the 29 crew members of an illegal Venezuelan-flagged fishing vessel that was burning in the internal bay of Buenaventura, the main port of the neighboring country in the Pacific Ocean.
The Taurus I boat was on fire, apparently due to a short circuit in the kitchen, the Navy detailed this Tuesday in a statement, in which it indicated that the rescued are 14 Venezuelans, 5 Mexicans, 5 Colombians, 2 Ecuadorians, 2 Peruvians and 1 Costa Rican.
The incident occurred on Monday night when “officials from the Maritime Surveillance and Traffic Station of the General Maritime Directorate alerted the staff of the Buenaventura Coast Guard Station of the conflagration that was taking place on the ship.”
“Two Rapid Reaction Units of the Colombian Navy were immediately deployed to the scene of the emergency, which in a timely manner evacuated the 29 crew members of the vessel,” the information added.
The rescued, according to the Navy, were transferred to the dock of the Harbor Master of Buenaventura, where they were treated by medical personnel who gave them first aid.
Two of them, who required specialized medical attention, were taken to a hospital in the port city.
fire control
The Navy carried out an operation with three tugboats that arrived in the area to try to control the fire on the boat.
The General Maritime Directorate will investigate to establish the causes in time, manner and place of the incident.
“We anticipate the possible contamination events that could be generated, so we activate the mechanisms and prepare ourselves to contain spills in any case and thus mitigate or avoid the impact on the marine environment,” said the frigate captain Javier Gómez, captain of the Port of Buenaventura.
Bouquet illegal fishing
The crew members of the Taurus I were required by the National Authority for Aquaculture and Fisheries, which accuses them of carrying out fishing activities in a protected area in Bahía Solano, in the department of Chocó, also in the Pacific.
In that region, these practices are prohibited, which is why the boat is immobilized in Buenaventura Bay, while investigations are carried out.
On August 26, the complaint was made that the boat was fishing in the protected area, which ended up affecting dolphins that were trapped in trawling nets.