The bodies of two French fishermen who had been missing for a week after the Maranello sank off the coast of Plymouth have now been recovered.
Captain Christophe Houart, 60, and senior crewman Jean-Pierre Le Caër, 56, were recovered by French Navy divers on Saturday evening (5 September).
The wreck of the French fishing vessel is lying around 72 metres beneath the surface, approximately 26 nautical miles South West of Plymouth.
A French Navy Tripartite-class minehunter departed Brest and located the wreck on Tuesday (1 September).
Poor weather initially prevented divers from reaching the wreck, but with the improved weather yesterday, divers were able to launch a body recovery operation.
An initial dive was carried out during the morning to assess the wreck and determine whether the operation could safely proceed before divers returned and recovered the bodies later that day.
Plymouth Plus understands that both men are believed to have become trapped on the bridge of the Maranello as the vessel suddenly sank.
Five people were on board the Maranello when it issued a Mayday call shortly after 6pm on Saturday 29 August after reporting difficulties with its fishing gear.
The vessel’s sister ship, the Stradale, was nearby and managed to rescue three members of the crew.
All three casualties were taken to the UK for hospital care, with two coming to Plymouth and the other airlifted to Cornwall.
A major international search and rescue operation was immediately launched involving four RNLI lifeboats, HM Coastguard aircraft, French military assets and more than 15 other vessels.
The French authorities will now investigate the circumstances surrounding the loss of the Maranello.
Alex Dehays, deputy public prosecutor in Saint-Brieuc, said:
"After an initial dive this morning, which allowed us to locate the site and assess the feasibility of the operation, divers were able to recover the bodies of the two sailors this evening.
"The investigation, still entrusted to the research section of the maritime gendarmerie in Brest, is therefore switching this evening to an investigation into the causes of death."
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