dramatic video A Spanish search and rescue diver is shown crouching on the bottom of the boat listening for signs of life. After being rescued on Tuesday, Kamprubi, 62, said he was able to survive thanks to an air bubble. spanish coast guard and media reports.
The sailor said he was shocked when he realized the extent of the damage to his boat – a broken mast, a shattered boom, a keel and most of the equipment gone.
“I couldn’t understand how I managed to survive,” Camprubi from Marseille. This was reported by the Spanish newspaper “La Voz de Galicia”.. “The conditions were very unfavorable.”
Camprubi left Portugal’s capital Lisbon on Sunday with his 40-meter boat. According to Reuters. He was qualifying for the upcoming quadrennial Route du Rhum transatlantic solo sailing race.
He arrived in Fisterra in the west on Monday Spain, where he encountered strong winds and three-meter waves, realized that he had lost his boat in a short time. In an interview with La Voz de Galicia, he said there was a beam running down the middle of the ship.
He told the newspaper: “I was trying to pull the mainsail when the boat started to tilt. “So I jumped in without thinking too much and within 15 seconds the boat sank.”
in a rescue mission described ason the edge of the impossible”, rescue teams fought in rough seas. Vicente Kobelo, a member of the Coast Guard’s special operations team, The shadow of laSexta TV station He got an answer Monday night when a lifeguard struck the boat to see if there were any survivors.
“That’s when we knew there was someone underneath,” he said.
But the waters were too rough for rescue. So the team had to wait until morning to try again.
While Camprubi waited for help, he said he used an air bubble to breathe and tried not to panic. He said La Voz de Galicia it The thought of never seeing his wife and children again helped him survive the ordeal.
He added that the air bubble was about 27 inches long on Monday, but dropped sharply overnight. By Tuesday, the water was filling up and he knew he was running out of time. But he calmed down, he said.
“I never panicked,” he told La Voz de Galicia. “I tried to see the reality and find solutions. I was afraid of never seeing my children again.”
Coast Guard officials said two divers swam under the boat on Tuesday to rescue the sailor, who was wearing a wetsuit and was in knee-deep water.
Coastguard Kobelo told reporters that when divers and a boat approached, the sailor jumped into the frozen water and swam under the boat to surface.
“He entered the water on his own initiative and dived freely, helped by the divers who had to pull him up because it was difficult to get out with a life jacket,” Cobelo told laSexta TV station.
Rescuers were seen on video pulling him to safety on Tuesday afternoon.
Camprubi, an experienced sailor who has participated in many local and international competitions, told La Voz de Galicia that the experience made him decide not to compete professionally any more.
“I don’t want to risk my life anymore,” he said. “I just want to take care of my family.”
