29 crew members rescued from Venezuelan-flagged vessel off Colombian coast

The Colombian Navy has rescued 29 crew members from a fishing boat that caught fire and was anchored in Buenaventura Bay (southwest).

The occupants were evacuated in time by the Navy, the Navy announced today.

“Officials of the Maritime Traffic and Surveillance Station of the Directorate General of Maritime Affairs alerted the personnel of the Buenaventura Coast Guard Station about the fire on the vessel Tauros I, which was apparently caused by a short circuit in the galley,” the Navy said in a statement.

According to the report, Navy authorities rescued 14 Venezuelans, five Mexicans, five Colombians, two Ecuadorians, two Peruvians, and one Costa Rican who received first aid, and two of them were hospitalized.

In addition, the Colombian Navy said that “possible contamination” that could have affected the marine environment was avoided.

“At the same time, the Navy, together with the General Directorate of Maritime Affairs, made the necessary arrangements for three tugboats to enter the emergency area to control the fire on board the vessel,” the report said.

According to authorities, an investigation was launched to determine the causes of the fire on the vessel, as the crew members “were requested by the National Aquaculture and Fisheries Agency for allegedly fishing in a protected area.”

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