The crew of 27 abandoned the vessel last night in life rafts, some 200 miles east of the Falkland Islands.
The Spanish Minister of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation, José Manuel Albares, said to Spanish broadcaster RTVE News this afternoon, that two lifeboats have been rescued.
Mr Albares said they are in constant touch with their embassies in Argentina, Uruguay, and the UK.
The Falkland Islands Government (FIG) was unable to confirm whether any rescue attempts have been undertaken when asked this afternoon and said the incident is ongoing.
Chair of the European Parliament Committee on Fisheries, Carmen Crespo, has issued a statement on the incident:
“On my first day as chair of Parliament’s fisheries committee, my thoughts are with the missing fishermen in the Falkland Islands and their families. We sincerely hope their rescue is completed soon.
In these difficult times, the Committee on Fisheries offers its solidarity with the Galician people, so closely linked to the fishing sector and from which several of the missing crew members of the ship Argos Georgia come.
This accident highlights the harshness of fishing activity and the sacrifice and risk that sea professionals experience”.
The crew of 27 abandoned the vessel yesterday around 4pm after an incident led to “uncontrolled flooding.”
Two fishing vessels and the FPV Lilibet made their way to the location last night, the first vessel arriving at the scene around 10am today to start rescue operations.
The Falkland Islands Government released a statement at 10am today saying the search area remains out of limits for helicopter SAR operations, but the situation is being reviewed regularly with a view to resuming operations as soon as possible. A FIG spokesperson couldn’t confirm if a review had been taken when asked this afternoon.
Argos Froyanes, the fishing company which owns the vessel, declined to comment on the situation when asked.
*Edit at 4.35pm*.
Some crew are confirmed missing from the vessel.
The Falkland Islands Government has now released a statement saying:
“It has been confirmed today that FPV Lilibet and 2 fishing vessels in the area have been able to rescue a number of the crew members. Those that have been rescued will be brought back to Stanley and taken to the King Edward VII Memorial Hospital for medical assessment. The search continues for the missing crew members.
The Falkland Islands Government send their thoughts to all the families involved. We would like to thank everyone involved in this search and rescue effort.
The search and rescue will continue throughout the night and the safety of all those involved is paramount.