Investigation intensifies after vessel in which six died is raised
The Koñimo I, which was being used at a Chilean salmon farm, sank when its crew were sleeping
A fish farm service vessel that sank with the loss of six lives in Chile’s Reloncaví estuary on January 27 has been raised five months after the tragedy, reports Fish Farming Expert's Chilean sister site, Salmonexpert.cl.
The Koñimo I, a catamaran which was contracted to Salmones Austral, sank at night when most of the eight crew were sleeping.
Salvage operations began in early June and the recovery was completed at the weekend.
Following this, prosecutor María Angélica de Miguel reported that “now comes a very important stage, which is the carrying out of the various expert analyses that will be performed together with the Investigative Police”.
Establishing the cause
Francisco Paredes, the lawyer for three of the families of the deceased, explained that “we are requesting emergency plans, rescue teams, and all the necessary procedures that can establish, from a naval engineering perspective, the causes of the sinking”.
“From the point of view of risk prevention engineering, the deficiency in the measures adopted by the company, both the employer and the client company Salmones Austral, is the cause of the death of these workers,” Paredes added.
The incident remains under investigation, with expert analyses aimed at establishing possible mechanical failures and human responsibility, Radio ADN reported.
During the five months of investigations, raids have been carried out on the company that hired the workers, as well as on the owner of the catamaran.
