Sinking of Janequeo and Leucoton
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On 15 October 1965 the Chilean {{sclass|Abnaki|tug}} {{ship|Chilean tugboat|Janequeo||2}}Former [http://www.navsource.net/archives/09/39/39109.htm USS Potawatomi (ATF-109)] sank off Caleta Llico, {{convert|60|nmi|lk=in}} south of Corral, Chile, with the loss of 51 men.
{{ship|Chilean ship|Leucotón|PP-61|2}}Former [http://www.navsource.net/archives/09/38/38200.htm USS ATA-200], Length {{convert|43|m|abbr=on}} and 860 t under command of Pedro Fierro Herreros was ordered to the periodic maintenance of the lighthouses but on 2 August, as bad weather threatened the ship, they were forced to take refuge in Caleta Manquemapu within Bahía San Pedro. As the anchor chain broke, the ship ran aground. The naval authorities immediately sent Janequeo under the command of Marcelo Léniz Bennet, to free Leucotón. On board was a rescue team of fixed men under the command of Claudio Hemmerdinger.
The crew of Leucotón made it safely to shore but despite days of effort, she could not be freed.
At 16:00 on 14 August, a tow-line got entangled in the propeller of Janequeo. Despite the intensive work of Hemmerdinger's frogmen, it was not possible to free the screw. Casma and Yelcho were now ordered to the rescue, but they could not enter Manquemapu Bay, due to waves over {{convert|15|m|abbr=on}} high. That day Janequeo repeatedly struck the rock Campanario, and although still afloat, was partially flooded.
At 9:20 on 15 August, Janequeo broke in two. Only 28 men of the crew survived and made it safely to shore, but 51 men were lost.
Aftermath
On 15 September 1965 appeared the first edition of the Chilean magazine Punto Final with an analysis of the disaster of Janequeo. Journalist Miguel Torres accused the admiralty of the Chilean Navy for the disaster.{{Cite web|url=http://www.puntofinal.cl/718/pfcaricatura.php|title = .:: Revista Punto Final - Edición 717::}}
The Leucotón shipwreck is still rusting on the beach of Manquemapu.
The patrol boat Fuentealba (15 t), the landing ship Hemmerdinger (1500 t) and patrol boat Odger (215 t) of the Chilean Navy are named after three of the sailors who died in the disaster.
See also
References
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External links
- Omar Valdivieso Véliz, [http://www.ligamar.cl/revis10/81.htm Los Condenados de la Mar], retrieved on 25 September 2013
- Fotos of the ships in [https://web.archive.org/web/20100914052850/http://base.mforos.com/1716041/4905767-patrulleros-clase-sotoyomo-pp-62-lautaro-pp-60-lientur-ypp-61-leucoton/ webarchiv] of [http://base.mforos.com/1716041/4905767-patrulleros-clase-sotoyomo-pp-62-lautaro-pp-60-lientur-ypp-61-leucoton/]
- Pamela Altamirano Cárdenas and Miriam Margarita Bernal Poblete [https://web.archive.org/web/20130927015617/http://www.migranchile.cl/maravpurranque33.html Caleta Manquemapu]
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Category:Maritime incidents in 1965
Category:Shipwrecks in the Chilean Sea
Category:1965 disasters in Chile
Category:Maritime incidents in Chile
Category:History of Los Lagos Region