Survivors from Spanish trawler that sunk off Canada unlikely, rescuers say

The chances of finding any more survivors from a Spanish fishing trawler that sank off Canada's eastern coast on Monday are low, rescuers say.

Ten fisherman are confirmed dead, three were rescued and 11 are still missing.

The 24-strong crew of the Villa de Pitanxo vessel included 16 Spaniards, five Peruvians and three Ghanaians.

The trawler, registered in 2004 and based in the port of Marin in Spain's north-western region of Galicia, sank in waters off Canada's Newfoundland.

"Although we still hope to find survivors alive, it is now unlikely that other survivors will be found," Canadian military official Lt Nicolas Plourde-Fleury told the AFP news agency, adding that the search continued.

Brian Owens of Canada's Joint Rescue Co-ordination Centre (JRCC) told the BBC there was "still hope" but poor weather conditions "are not favourable" for the rescue mission.

In Madrid, lawmakers observed a minute of silence in parliament on Wednesday to mark Spain's worst fishing tragedy in almost 40 years.

Spain's agriculture and fisheries minister, Luis Planas, said it was the biggest tragedy in the fishing industry since Islamar III, a sardine boat, sank off the Canary Islands in 1984, claiming 26 lives.

"Once again the people of the sea have been hit very hard," said Alberto Núñez Feijóo, head of the Galicia region.

"Galicia is a big family and when a family is struck by a tragic event, it unites in grief to seek comfort," he said, announcing three days of mourning for the victims.

The three survivors were found in a lifeboat suffering from hypothermia and were airlifted to safety by a Canadian Coast Guard helicopter.

A plane, two helicopters, rescue ships and one Spanish and two Portuguese trawlers were still carrying out rescue missions, the Spanish marine rescue agency said.

Two distress alerts were received from the Villa de Pitanxo more than 450km (279 miles) from land, according to Spanish sea search and rescue agency Salvamento Marítimo.

It is as yet unclear what caused it to sink.