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After Reunion Island, it is now Madagascar’s turn to fear the arrival of the cyclone Batsirai. The storm trapped an oil tanker not far from the coast of Reunion. Eleven sailors were able to be saved after rescue operations, Thursday, February 3 at night.
Waves still overwhelm the tanker. Thusday February 3 in the evening, a Mauritian boat was projected against the coast of Reunion against the power of the wind. On board, eleven exhausted sailors, but who were able to be brought back to dry land thanks to the firefighters’ operation. The intervention lasted all night, slowed down by bad weather. “It was still not easy with the movements of the boat and the swell which did not stop hitting”, says Chief Warrant Officer Jean-Luc Gonthier.
During the evacuation, the gusts of wind reached 150 km / h. The crew members were placed under medical supervision in an accommodation centre. They are in shock. “Since two days, we were drifting because of the bad weather caused by the cyclone. We ended up losing control of the boat, we were stuck”explains one of them. The cyclone is now heading towards Madagascar. An expertise is underway to free the tanker safely.