The death toll from the sinking fishing boat near the Malvinas Islands – known as the Falklands in Britain – rose to 13 on Wednesday as the search for survivors was suspended due to bad weather.

A total of 27 crew members were on board the St Helena-flagged Argos Georgia, of which 14 were rescued and 9 were found dead, according to Ervik Havfiske Holding, the ship’s owning company.

The remaining 4 members were missing and are now presumed dead as authorities on the islands decided to suspend the search and rescue operation, said Stig Ervik, president and CEO of the ship’s owning company.

The crew consisted of 10 Spanish nationals, 8 Russian nationals, 5 Indonesian nationals, 2 Peruvian nationals and 2 Uruguayan nationals, aged between 30 and 58.

“This is tragic news for families who have lost fathers and husbands,” Mr. Ervik said.

Authorities in the British offshore possession have announced that they will resume the search operation, now of a different nature, to locate the sailors’ bodies, as soon as the weather conditions improve.

The Argos Georgia was about 200 nautical miles east of Stanley when it sank.

One of the crew was still being treated at the King Edward VII Memorial Hospital in Stanley, the capital of the Falklands, on Thursday, but his condition was not serious.

Another 12 crew members have been discharged and are staying in a hotel. The last survivor, rescued by a trawler, was still expected to arrive yesterday.