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Fishermen clung to capsized boat all night

The Bermuda Maritime Operations Center

Three Portuguese fishermen were rescued after clinging to their capsized vessel all night over Cup Match.It’s believed their boat had an oversized engine, which caused it to turn turtle.The men were reported missing by a concerned member of the public at 9.05am on Sunday. The caller told Bermuda Maritime Operations Centre (BMOC) the fishing boat was overdue returning to Spanish Point Boat Club, according to a spokesman for the Centre.The men had last been spotted near Paradise Lakes on Saturday afternoon. They had indicated they were going fishing on the South Shore and would return around midnight on Saturday. They were in an 18-foot Bowrider boat with a 200 horsepower engine.BMOC contacted the Marine Police and endeavoured to contact the families of the missing men, who are Bermuda residents. At 9.55am, they began to put out broadcasts to all vessels within VHF radio range asking them to look out for the boat.At 10.25am, the broadcasts resulted in another fishing boat spotting the capsized vessel near Chub Heads Beacon, five miles west of Watford Bridge, Sandys. The rescuers towed the men and their boat in to shore.The BMOC spokesman said yesterday: “The vessel was capsized and the three of them were in the water overnight.” He said it’s understood they were clinging to the boat for an estimated 15 hours, but survived without injury.The BMOC spokesman added: “We haven’t spoken directly to the men at the moment as there’s some issues with their English, but it’s probably fair to say that the outboard motor was oversized for the size of the boat. It’s a 200 horsepower engine and was very heavy. As the ship started to pitch in the waves, she took on water over the stern which caused her to capsize.”He added that inquiries will be made into the cause of the mishap, to prevent anything similar happening again.