GLOUCESTER — A lawyer representing relatives of two men who died when their fishing vessel sank off the coast of Gloucester in January 2009 said today that the family is not satisfied with the findings of a Coast Guard report attributing the sinking to a loss of stability.
Matteo Russo, 36, and his father-in-law John Orlando, 58, died when their 54-foot vessel, the Patriot, sank so quickly that neither man had time to grab a life-saving device or send out an emergency signal, and that sinking occurred when the ship lost stability and capsized, according to the report, which was made public Friday.
Coast Guard Captain John Healey said Friday that underwater acoustic equipment captured a series of "loud bangs" on the Patriot in the moments leading up to the sinking, which could suggest a loss of stability due to flooding.
But Stephen Ouellette, a lawyer representing the families said this morning during a news conference said that the report is "not conclusive" and he is continuing in his investigation to examine evidence of damage to the vessel that "suggests some extreme force" such as a collision before the sinking.
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