Search and rescue operation after sinking of Onega fishing vessel in Barents Sea completed - Rosmorrechflot
MOSCOW. Dec 30 (Interfax) - The active phase of the search and rescue operation in the Barents Sea following the sinking of the Onega fishing vessel has been wrapped up, the Federal Agency for Sea and Inland Water Transport (Rosmorrechflot) told Interfax on Wednesday.
"The active phase of the search and rescue operation in the aftermath of the sinking of the Onega vessel was completed at 3:00 p.m. Moscow time on December 30," the agency spokesperson said, adding that the vessels taking part in the search effort are now returning to base.
The Onega fishing vessel, built in 1979, sank on December 28 in the Barents Sea near Novaya Zemlya in the Arkhangelsk region. Two of the boat's 19-strong crew were rescued. According to the Federal Agency for Fishery (Rosrybolovstvo), the Onega was owned by the Arkhangelsk region's Kalinin fishery enterprise.
The accident is tentatively blamed on icing and tilting of the vessel as the crew pulled its fishing net out of the water.
A criminal case has been opened on a count of violations of the safety rules for operating maritime vessels.
The Murmansk region mourned the sailors on December 29.