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DUBLIN, Ireland, Sept. 13 (UPI) -- Five crew members and 20 trainees survived the sinking of the Asgard II, an Irish sailing vessel that went down off the French coast.
The Asgard II, a tall ship or sail-only traditionally rigged vessel, was a civilian craft operated by a committee headed by the Irish Ministry of Defense.
The vessel was 20 miles out in the Bay of Biscay when it went down early Thursday, RTE reported. The 25 people on board escaped on life rafts and were picked up by the French coast guard.
They returned to Ireland Friday. The sinking is being investigated by the Marine Casualty Investigation Board.
The Asgard II was named after the Asgard, a yacht belonging to Erskine Childers, a British civil servant turned Irish nationalist. The Asgard was used for gun-running in 1913 and is now at Kilmainham Jail, the Dublin prison converted to a museum.
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