Canadians safe after grounding in the Galapagos



9:49 PM Sat 20 Mar 2010 GMT
'Galapagos grounding - Canadians safe' .
Sixteen Canadians and eight Ecuadorean crew members were rescued from a yacht that ran aground in the Galapagos Islands, officials said Thursday.

No injuries were reported in the Wednesday evening rescue by navy and national park vessels, which the 140-foot (46-metre) yacht's operator described as 'safe and orderly.'


All were taken to nearby Santa Cruz island.

A spokesman for the operator said the mishap may have been the fault of the yacht Alta's captain, but that was not yet sure.

He also said none of the 3,500 gallons of fuel aboard the yacht had spilled and that an attempt would be made to free it Thursday afternoon from choppy waters adjacent the small island of Camano.

'We are completely aware that we need to be ready to combat any type of contamination there might be, although at the moment there has been none,' he told The Associated Press.

A spokeswoman from Canada's Foreign Affairs Department, Dana Cryderman, confirmed from Ottawa that all the Canadians were safe and said the country's embassy in Ecuador was providing assistance.




by Sail-World Round-up



Newsfeed supplied by

Live Weather
Nearby
North Head, NSW
11 kn NNE
Little Bay, NSW
13 kn NNE
Cronulla, NSW
8 kn NNE
Windiest in Australia
Mount Hotham, VIC
38 kn NNW
5°
Most Windless in Australia
Tambo, QLD
Calm
21°
Hottest in Australia
The Monument, QLD
9 kn S
36°
Coldest in Australia
Mount Hotham, VIC
38 kn NNW
5°
Wettest in Australia
Injune, QLD
43.0 mm