A drama off the coast of Spain. Two sailors died and a third was missing in the sinking of a fishing boat Monday morning, while the other seven crew members were rescued, according to regional authorities. The boat, named "Vilaboa Uno", sank at dawn on Monday while it was six nautical miles from the northern end of Santander Bay, where it had its base. The cause of the sinking is at this stage unknown.

"There were ten crew members on board: seven were rescued, there is one missing and two dead," said on Twitter the president of this region of northern Spain, Miguel Ángel Revilla, deploring "a new misfortune at sea".

The government representative (equivalent to a prefect) in the Cantabria region, Ainoa Quiñones, told Cadena Ser radio that the dead were a Spaniard and a Ghanaian. The missing sailor is a Peruvian national. According to Ainoa Quiñones, one of the seven crew members rescued is in serious condition.

The boat sank very quickly

The sinking was so rapid that, despite their efforts, "the fishermen did not have time to launch their lifeboats" and "the rescuers found them in the water". "Fortunately, the fishing boats" that came to their rescue "were quite close to the area of the sinking and in less than an hour, they managed to save the people," said the head of the rescue services.

Although the causes of the accident are not known, it is not "normal" that a ship like the "Vilaboa Uno" sinks so quickly, when "the weather situation was not bad", added the rescuers, adding that the Maritime Accidents Commission would open an investigation.

On Twitter, Spanish Labour Minister Yolanda Díaz lamented the "terrible news", saying she hoped that "the search operations for the missing crew member (...) may bring good news."

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