Funerals held on French island for sailors drowned off N.L.

Funerals took place Wednesday on the French island of St-Pierre for three sailors drowned earlier this month when their cargo ship foundered off Newfoundland.

One crew member's body is still missing.

The bodies of Jean Guy Urdanabia, Thierry Duruty and Robert Marcil — all from St-Pierre — were recovered on Tuesday from the sunken wreckage of the cargo ship, Cap Blanc. The vessel foundered in bad weather on Dec. 2 while carrying road salt from Newfoundland to the islands.

French divers used a submersible vessel to pull the bodies out of the ship, which was under 134 metres of water. The remains of Robert Bechet could not be found.

There are no plans to salvage the ship.

The Canadian Coast Guard said banging from some survivors could still be heard inside of the Cap Blanc when crews first arrived at the upturned hull. But the ship sank before a rescue could be attempted.

The ship had been carrying road salt from Newfoundland to St-Pierre, which are just 25 kilometres apart at the closest point. 

St-Pierre Television described the funerals as a day of mourning for the entire French territory.

Broadcaster Marc Guérin said everyone in the islands knew the dead and missing crew members.

"It's like a big family," he said, "I always say St-Pierre is like a big shop. Everybody's on the same boat. So when one goes, everybody suffers."

Christmas Eve is usually marked as the anniversary of the liberation of the islands from the control of the Nazi-collaborationist regime of Vichy France in 1941.

Those celebrations have been cancelled.

The islands of St-Pierre-Miquelon are the last remnants of French imperialism in North America and have been under direct rule from Paris since 1763.