MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Spanish survivors of Argos Georgia back in Galicia and Madrid; search for disappeared continues

The Spanish Air Force Airbus 330 at the Santiago de Compostela airport where Galician survivors joined their families (Pic EFE)

The Spanish media have given ample coverage to the return of the six fellow Spaniards who survived the sinking of Argos Georgia in the deep south Atlantic, and have finally been able to join their loved ones after witnessing the tragedy of a shipwreck that took the lives of nine other mariners and four more who remain disappeared.

 An Air Force, Airbus A330-202, chartered by the government of Spain left the international airport of Mount Pleasant on Saturday at 20:45 GMT, heading for Galicia, where it landed fourteen hours later. Survivors during their flight were accompanied by a special medical rescue unit from the Spanish Ministry of Defense.

In Santiago de Compostela, Galicia's capital, the aircraft left four Galician mariners, three from Coruña and one from Pontevedra, Jose Saborido, captain, Ramón Hombre, Ramón García and Francisco Gondar. A few hours later the remaining two were landed at the Torrejón de Ardoz military base in Madrid. They were the fisheries observers on board Argos Georgia, a lady Amparo Burguillos from Albacete and Pere Hernández from Barcelona.

In Santiago de Compostela survivors joined their relatives and children in a most private gathering at the airport facilities with no media access. Among those present to receive them were also national and regional authorities, the delegate from the Madrid government in Galicia, Pedro Blanco, the president of the Galicia Xunta, Alfonso Rueda, Sea Councilor Alfonso Villares and the mayor of Ribiera, Luis Pérez. However the two deceased Galician, Cesar Acevedo and Santiago Leyenda, were not flown in since as with the rest of corpses will be sent to Oxfordshire to comply with forensic protocol as demanded by Falklands authorities.

As to the remaining four disappeared, including another two Galician, air and sea rescue operations have resumed following the awful storm that ended in tragedy.