The 12-meter (40-foot) Jeanne Solo Sailor sent out a distress signal at 8:23 p.m. Monday, 14 miles from the Sisargas Islands off Spain’s northwestern Galicia region, the coast guard said. Tracking data shows it had set sail from the Portuguese capital, Lisbon, on Sunday morning. As a rescue boat carrying five divers set sail, one of three helicopters sent to help the search spotted the overturned vessel as the sun set. A diver crawled into the ship’s hull to search for signs of life, and the man inside, who has not been named, responded to his pounding on the hull by striking from within. With the sea too rough to attempt a rescue, the Coast Guard attached flotation balloons to the ship’s hull to prevent it from sinking further and waited until morning. The Coast Guard crew made contact with the man by pounding the hull. Photo: Reuters Two divers swam under the boat to help free the sailor, who was found wearing a neoprene survival suit and submerged up to his knees in water. Vicente Cobelo, a member of the coast guard’s special operations team, told a local station that the man then jumped into the icy water and swam under the boat to reach the surface. “On his own initiative he entered the water and dived freely, helped by the divers who had to pull him out because it was difficult for him to get out in his suit,” said Compello. The man was airlifted to safety and taken to hospital for checks and was released soon after without incident.
