British tourists cheat death as cargo ship smashes into sailboat | World | News
Two British tourists have cheated death after the sailing boat they were on was hit by a cargo vessel off Colombia’s Caribbean coast and sunk.
Colombian naval officers went to the rescue of the holidaymakers and 18 others on board the boat after they managed to save themselves by jumping into emergency life rafts following the early-hours collision as the captain sounded a Mayday alert. Their rescuers published video footage overnight showing them helping the stricken travellers to safety and taking them to dry land where they were checked over by doctors. Miraculously, all survived unharmed despite the near-tragedy.
The tourists were thought to have been nearing the end of a five-day, four-night tour from Panama to Colombia starting in the San Blas Islands, a stunning Caribbean archipelago off Panama’s coast.
The boat has not been officially named, but Italian skipper Rudolf Gamberoni who spoke after the drama to thank rescuers for saving them takes thrill-seekers on regular trips between the two countries on a New Zealand-built classic topsail schooner sailboat called Alessandra.
The voyage is billed online to potential international travellers as a pirate trip and Alessandra is described as a Hollywood star in promotional material because it featured in the iconic 1994 film Legends of the Fall whose cast included Brad Pitt, Anthony Hopkins and Julia Ormond.
Navy chiefs confirmed overnight those on board including two British nationals, six Germans, four French people, two Swiss, three Colombians, and three others from Italy, Belgium and Turkey. The rescue occurred just before 5am local time on January 3.
Colombia’s Ministry of Defence said in a statement: “We rescued 20 people in waters near Cartagena, thanks to the rapid response of our Colombian Navy sailors.
At around 4:40 a.m. on 3 January, the Cartagena Coast Guard Station received a distress call on line 146.
A Rapid Response Unit (URR) was immediately dispatched to respond to the emergency involving a sailboat that had apparently been struck by a cargo ship and sank within minutes. “Among those rescued were Colombian, Swedish, German, and French citizens, among others.
“We reaffirm our commitment to the protection of human life at sea, security, and the control of our maritime borders.”
Felipe Portilla, Commander of the Cartagena Coastguard Station, added: “The call that came in said a sailing boat that was travelling between Panama and Colombia had sunk off Bocachica near Cartagena.
“The people rescued were in life rafts when the two rapid response vessels that were mobilised located them. The 20 people whose lives were saved consisted of the captain, three crew and 16 people of different nationalities.”
Footage of the rescue showed the foreigners being helped to safety in the darkness before they broke down in tears as they hugged each other once they reached dry land.
Captain Rudolf Gamberoni said: “A small cargo vessel hit us and made a big hole in our side. It didn’t have any lights. Our boat sank in a question of just a few minutes.
“Luckily we are safe and many thanks to the coastguards who rescued us so quickly.”
The two Brit tourists, who have not been named, are believed to have celebrated New Years Eve on board with their international sailing companions after departing from Panama on December 30.
They are thought to have paid just over £500 for the trip, which included double or single-bed accommodation in three shared cabins and three meals a day.
Police were still trying to identify the cargo vessel involved in the maritime accident last night, which is said to have continued without stopping with local reports pointing to the possibility its skipper may not have not realised he had collided with another boat in the darkness.
