dailyloe.com – The Trinidad vessel from the Flotilla for Gaza sank in the Mediterranean due to a storm while en route to Crete. Twelve survivors, including activists and crew members, were rescued by an Open Arms ship using inflatable boats.
Antonella Bundu, a former candidate for the presidency of the Tuscany Region, provided details of the incident. She stated, “The Trinidad has sunk. Yesterday was the first day of ‘tormenta’ (storm in Spanish).”
She described the conditions, saying that after a few hours of rough seas, the boat began to break apart. Parts of the vessel, including the railings, were damaged, leaving significant holes on the deck.
Bundu recounted their frantic escape, saying, “We common mortals dramatically abandoned the ship, asking via radio for Open Arms’ intervention.” The Open Arms team responded by sending a dinghy to assist.
“They take us one by one, I last, the captain decides to stay on the boat,” Bundu noted. Those on the dinghy shouted at them in Spanish to be heard over the noise of the sea. She mentioned, “I brought with me only a small canvas bag. My passport in a plastic pouch around my neck.”
After being brought aboard the rescue ship, Bundu detailed that they were given Open Arms uniforms, could finally take warm showers, and washed their dirty clothes. Other survivors began arriving as well, bringing the total to twelve.
They were shown the bunks, able to sleep in shifts of four hours. Bundu shared, “I go to bed at 11 and get up at 3. We are officially shipwrecked and waiting for a port of disembarkation.”
