The Spanish Navy minehunter ‘Tajo’ rescued the crewman of a sailboat who was about to sink in rough weather in the Ionian Sea between Italy and the Greek coast.
The minehunter received a distress call from a 52-year old Israeli sailor, the only crewman of a sailboat, informing that he was about to sink and requested urgent help.
The ‘Tajo’ was 9 miles away and proceeded to rescue the crewman despite the high winds and heavy seas. Although exhausted, the man was in good physical health. Because of the storm, the ‘Tajo’ had to abandon the sinking sailboat informing of her exact position to the Regio Calabria Rescue Center. After riding out the storm during the whole night, the ‘Tajo’ sailed towards the Greek coast to disembark the rescued sailor.
Minehunter ‘Tajo’ set sail on June 19th from her home port in Cartagena (Murcia) to integrate into the Standing NATO Mine Countermeasures Group Two (SNMCMG-2) currently conducting surveillance and protection tasks in the Mediterranean Sea.
The ship’s crew is made up of 37 people plus 3 EOD divers from the Spanish Navy Diving Center.
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Image: Spanish Navy