At Least 4 Killed After Boat Capsizes Near Galapagos Islands

At least four people have died after a passenger boat capsized near the Galapagos Islands, Ecuador, officials said Monday.

The vessel carrying over 30 passengers was traveling between Isla Isabella and Santa Cruz when the incident occurred near Tortuga Bay on Sunday evening, ABC news reported. Three engines of the boat stopped working after running out of fuel.

According to officials, 31 passengers were rescued from the boat, but two crew members are still missing. An American-Israeli citizen, a Colombian and two Ecuadorian citizens died in the sinking, Ecuador’s Foreign Ministry confirmed.

The identities of the victims have not been released by the officials. The ministry added it was working with the consulates of the concerned countries to “provide all the necessary support.”

Santa Cruz Mayor Angel Yanez said an emergency operations committee was immediately instituted to search for the missing people.

Over two dozen rescue personnel from the Galápagos National Park and local authorities were called in to look for the missing passengers. The Santa Cruz port captain’s office also revealed that a majority of passengers onboard were not wearing lifejackets when the boat capsized, Associated Press said.

The boat, called the Angy, covered a route between Isabela Island and the town of Puerto Ayora. The local port authority was also probing the cause of the ill-fated accident.

A preliminary report by Ecuador’s emergency services initially said three people were killed in the incident, four were missing and 30 had survived. The Port Authority of Isabela Island noted that 39 passengers were on the travelers’ list, but two people did not turn up for the trip.

An archipelago in the Pacific Ocean, the Galapagos Islands is around 600 miles from the mainland.

In an unrelated incident, five people died after a charter boat with tourists onboard capsized in New Zealand on Sept. 10. According to authorities, 11 people were aboard the 8.5-meter boat when it capsized after colliding with a whale in Goose Bay near the South Island town of Kaikoura. Divers managed to rescue six people from the vessel.