School sailing ship capsizes
High winds, rough seas held to blame
A school sailing expedition ended in disaster yesterday when the ship capsized off the Brazilian coast.
All 64 pupils, staff and crew on the sailing ship were rescued by nearby shipping boats.
High winds and rough seas were blamed for the accident.
The boat was owned by West Island College International, based in Nova Scotia.
A spokesman confirmed the incident but declined to give details.
The school's website says it gives high school and college students the chance to study while sailing the world.
The ship had left Brazil's north-east on February 8 and was expected to dock in Montevideo, Uruguay on Tuesday.
Brazil's Navy said a distress signal was picked up from the three-masted SV Concordia about 5 p.m. local time (1900 GMT) yesterday about 300 miles off Rio de Janeiro. Three hours later an Air Force plane spotted life rafts floating in the ocean. The Navy sent its own rescue ship, but those aboard the Canadian ship were plucked from the ocean early yesterday by other vessels.
Canada's Foreign Minister Lawrence Cannon said nobody on board was injured and he thanked "Brazilian authorities who led a search and rescue operation and acted swiftly to assist the ship and its passengers."
The school said that the Concordia was on a 10-month voyage. It added the "status of the vessel is unknown," though the Brazilian Navy said it sank.
Terry Davies, founder of the school, said the rescued passengers were being taken back to Rio de Janeiro.
The 188ft Concordia was built in 1992 and "meets all of the international requirements for safety", said the school.
It can carry up to 66 passengers and crew and also can operate under motor power.