Two men die after sailboat runs aground on Costa Brava

Two French men died after the sailboat they were sailing in ran aground on the Costa Brava in the north of Catalonia. 

The boat crashed into the islet of Cap de Bol, 30 meters from the coast at Port de la Selva, Alt Empordà County, according to the fire service. 

Search and rescue teams were alerted to the incident in the early hours of Friday morning, at 12:45am. 

The mayor of Port de la Selva, Josep Maria Cervera, explained to the Catalan News Agency (ACN) that when the emergency services arrived, they found the bodies of the victims floating in the water. 

Firefighters and personnel from the Emergency Medical Services (SEM) tried, without success, to resuscitate the two men. 

Mossos d'Esquadra (Catalan police) and local police also attended the scene. 

High winds 

The recovery operation was complicated by weather conditions, the mayor explained. 

"We had to wait for the arrival of the Maritime Rescue helicopter to be able to evacuate the bodies and the strong gusts of wind, of more than 90 kilometers per hour, made this task difficult," Cervera said.  

The two men were aged 76 and 78, according to police sources. 

Both the mayor of Port de la Selva and police sources said the reason the sailboat ended up on the islet of Cap de Bol is currently unknown. 

Some hypotheses have suggested that it is possible that the boat was moored in Llançà and that the anchor broke. The wind and strong swell could have dragged the sailboat to the point where it eventually ran aground. 

Distress call

The autopsies on the two victims confirmed natural death by drowning. 

Authorities confirmed that their boat left the French port of Agde, near Beziers, and headed for Gruissan, also in France. 

The first contact they made with the French maritime emergency services was to say that the storm was preventing them from entering the port they were heading for, and that they had decided to continue sailing south. 

Two hours later, they contacted the authorities again, this time sending a distress call asking for help.