Missing fishermen presumed dead in South Africa shipwreck: minister
A South African minister on Sunday said that 11 fishermen, who went missing when a trawler sank off the coast of the country on Friday, are presumed dead.
"I wish to extend my sincere condolences to the families of the 11 crew members who are now presumed deceased," Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment, Barbara Creecy, said in a statement.
"The families of the bereaved fishermen have been informed that the search has been called off," she added.
The fishing vessel ran into difficulty and sent out a distress signal on Friday before sinking in the South Atlantic -- just 30 nautical miles off the Cape of Good Hope.
South Africa's lifeboat organisation, the National Sea Rescue Institute, said 20 crew had been on board the missing trawler.
Nine survivors were found by other fishing vessels on a life raft.
Lifeboats from Hout Bay and Table Bay on the Cape, along with helicopters and aeroplanes from private Cape Town operator Aerios Global were launched but difficult weather conditions and a lack of sightings brought the search to an end.
An investigation into the cause of the sinking has been launched.
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