10 fishermen dead in South African trawler tragedy

JOHANNESBURG (AP) - A South African rescue service says 10 fishermen died and three are missing after the crew of a fishing trawler abandoned their vessel in rough seas off the South African coast.

The National Sea Rescue Institute said Monday that another eight fishermen from the Cape Town trawler had survived the disaster, which happened Sunday south of Hangklip, Western Cape province. It says nine bodies were recovered from the water and another fishermen who had been rescued later died of injuries.

The institute says in a statement that two sea rescue vessels and a South African air force helicopter responded to a distress call from the fishing trawler after it took on water in swells as high as 20 feet (six meters).