Associated Press Feeds about the Moby Dick Sinking
June 11, 1998
Tourist Ship Sinks off Galapagos
.c The Associated Press
QUITO, Ecuador (AP) - A boat carrying a group of tourists sank Thursday in rough seas near the Galapagos Islands, according to local news reports. One person was reported dead and three missing.
The ship, identified as the Moby Dick, was carrying 16 passengers and eight crew members when it went down near the island of Santa Fe, 560 miles from the coast of Ecuador, news reports said. It was not immediately known how the survivors were rescued.
Station SI-TV of the port of Guayaquil, 170 miles southeast of Quito, reported that survivors said one person died and three others were missing. A port official in the Galapagos, speaking on condition of anonymity, said authorities were aware of the accident but had no details.
The ship carried both Ecuadorean citizens and foreigners, whose nationalities were not immediately known.
June 12, 1998
Galapagos Charter Sinks; One Dead
.c The Associated Press
QUITO, Ecuador (AP) - Navy and private boats searched Friday for three elderly Americans missing after a charter boat sank off the coast of the Galapagos Islands. One 70-year-old American woman was confirmed dead. The woman's identity was withheld pending notification of her family.
The missing passengers were Richard Sayre, 80, Robert Donna, 75, and Lyon Zeiler, 75, according to the captain of Puerto Ayora in the Galapagos, Lt. Jacinto Trivino. He didn't release their hometowns. U.S. Embassy officials could not confirm the names. Trivino said their chance of survival was slim. The charter company said they did not know how to swim.
One of the 11 passengers who survived Wednesday's accident suffered serious injuries, Trivino said. The eight crewmen, all Ecuadorean, also survived. The boat, called the ``Moby Dick,'' sank after sea conditions changed suddenly and two large waves swamped it near the Galapagos island of Santa Fe, Trivino said.
The boat stayed afloat for 20 to 30 minutes before capsizing. A nearby yacht arrived 10 minutes later and began rescuing passengers. The boat had been chartered on behalf of Elderhostel, a Boston-based group that offers educational programs for older adults. Representatives from the company left Thursday for the scene of the accident.
Four women from Corvallis, Ore., were among the survivors. One of them, Marolyn Welch, told her daughter, Linda Crew, after the accident that the boat seemed to rock too much and everyone was getting seasick.
The Galapagos Islands, home to unique forms of animal and plant life, are located 600 miles west of the Ecuadorean mainland. They are Ecuador's main tourist attraction.
AP-NY-06-12-98 1700EDT
June 12, 1998
Galapagos Charter Sinks; One Dead
.c The Associated Press
QUITO, Ecuador (AP) - A charter boat carrying elderly Americans went down off one of the Galapagos Islands, leaving one 70-year-old woman dead and three other tourists missing. The ship, identified as the Moby Dick, sank Wednesday night in heavy seas near the Galapagos archipelago island of Santa Fe, according to news reports. The boat was carrying at least 15 passengers.
The Galapagos archipelago, located 600 miles off the coast of Ecuador, is the country's major tourist attraction. Daniel Garaycoa, a spokesman for the Galapagos port of Puerto Ayora, said today that 11 passengers were rescued - one with a serious injury. Eight crewmen also survived.
He said the boat stayed afloat for 20 to 30 minutes before sinking and a nearby yacht arrived quickly to rescue survivors from the water. He did not have the identity of the dead woman or the names of the missing passengers. The charter boat was linked to the Boston-based group Elderhostel, which said it was working with U.S. consular officials in Ecuador to investigate the accident.
The Gazette Times of Corvalis, Ore., reported that four Oregon women were among the survivors.
AP-NY-06-12-98 1130EDT
June 13, 1998
Tourist Ship Sinks off Galapagos.c The Associated Press
QUITO, Ecuador (AP) - Rescuers were losing hope of finding three elderly Americans alive two days after their charter boat sank off the coast of the Galapagos Islands. At least one woman, a 70-year-old American, died in Wednesday's accident. Her identity was withheld pending notification of her family.
The ``Moby Dick'' sank after sea conditions changed suddenly and two large waves swamped it near the Galapagos island of Santa Fe, said Lt. Jacinto Trivino, the captain of Puerto Ayora in the Galapagos. The boat stayed afloat for 20 to 30 minutes before capsizing; a nearby yacht arrived 10 minutes later and began rescuing passengers.
The missing passengers were Richard Sayre, 80, Robert Donna, 75, and Lyon Zeiler, 75, according to Trivino. He didn't release their hometowns. U.S. Embassy officials could not confirm the names. Trivino said their chance of survival was slim. The charter company said they did not know how to swim. One of the 11 surviving passengers suffered serious injuries, Trivino said. The eight crewmen, all Ecuadorean, also survived.
The boat was chartered on behalf of Elderhostel, a Boston-based group that offers educational programs for older adults. The Galapagos Islands, home to unique forms of animal and plant life, are located 600 miles west of the Ecuadorean mainland. They are Ecuador's main tourist attraction.
AP-NY-06-13-98 0225EDT