Tuesday March 10 at 3:20 p.m., the CROSS Corsen was alerted by the owner of a boat. Four of his acquaintances, to whom he lent his Cap Camarat 5.70, did not return. They had left at 11 a.m. and returned at 3 p.m.
A borrowed boat to reach the bench of Hermelles, the Mecca of shore fishing at high tide in the Bay of Mont Saint-Michel.
“The four fishermen are experienced and between the ages of 60 and 75”, confirms Captain Geffroy of the Brest maritime gendarmerie company.
The owner of the boat launched the disappearance alert when he noticed the delay of his friends.
“Among the passengers, there is at least one Cancalais”, points out the president of the SNSM of Cancale, Jean Kermorgant.
Engine failure
The boat’s owner from Cancun lent another Cancalais. From 11:30 am, the owner of the Karigon receives a call, there is a problem on board.
Engine failure worries the crew of shore fishermen.
The owner tried to troubleshoot them remotely. But when the owner tries to call them back around 2 p.m., no one answers.
“Despite the research, there is no trace of the boat,” confirms Jean Kermorgant of SNSM Cancale.
The National Society for Sea Rescue wonders if the other two wanted bodies are on board.
An important research facility
The Dragon 50 helicopter, then in preventive flight around Mont Saint Michel during high tides, is made available. “He was already present there so he was quickly engaged in search operations”, provides the Maritime Prefecture of the Atlantic.
A second helicopter from the French Navy took over, followed by maritime crews. This Tuesday until the night, the SNSM mobilized its teams from Cancale, Dinard, Granville, Saint-Malo, Jullouville, Frégates and Les Genêts. A ground patrol of firefighters was watching from the coast.
The research stopped around 3:30 a.m. that night.
This Wednesday morning, the report shows 2 dead. Two bodies were found around 10 p.m. Tuesday evening at the Sainte-Anne Chapel and the Vivier sur Mer. One has already been identified.
Research resumed at dawn, around 7:30 a.m., this Wednesday morning since two people are still wanted. This Wednesday morning, two SNSM boats (Granville and Cancale), the Trieuc star of the Maritime Gendarmerie and the Dragon 50 helicopter are mobilized for research.
An investigation to identify the victims is carried out by the maritime gendarmerie. The coast surveillance brigade has already been seized by the Saint-Malo prosecution.
A weather-related drama?
According to Captain Geffroy of the Brest Maritime Gendarmerie Company, “the weather conditions were clean. At high tide, we must be careful because the weather offshore may be different”. The tidal range, i.e. the difference in meters between the highest point and the lowest point of the sea during a tide, was between 8 and 10 meters. “The currents were very important”, underlines the captain.
At the moment, we do not know how the fishermen disappeared and whether this is due to the weather or to the engine failure.
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