Schooner sinks off Les Mamelles |27 May 2014

The schooner ‘l’Arc en Ciel’ sunk off Les Mamelles Island yesterday afternoon while transporting cargo to the island of Praslin.

The schooner, which was based on Praslin, had been part of the Victoria Harbour scenery for many years, arriving in the early morning, loading and going back to the island in the early afternoon.
 
The vessel reportedly left Mahé at around 1.15pm and sunk about one hour later. The reasons for the accident remain for the moment unknown.

Fortunately, all ten persons on board were rescued by two other vessels from Praslin, ‘La Belle Praslinoise’ and ‘Praslin Hero’.

The accident is the second this year involving a schooner, after the ‘Caprice Letan’ sunk off Praslin some months ago.

Compared to the ‘Caprice Letan’ which was salvaged, it is not sure at this point if the ‘l’Arc en Ciel’ will be as lucky.