Route du Rhum: after its capsize, Armel Le Cléac'h rescued by a Panamanian cargo ship

Winner of the 2016/2017 Vendée Globe and favorite at the start of the Route du Rhum, navigator Armel Le Cléac'h (Banque Populaire) was rescued by a cargo ship on Wednesday after capsizing off the coast of the Azores, the race organization said.

“Several boats had been diverted to provide assistance. It was a Panamanian cargo ship that arrived in the area first in the middle of the afternoon and carried out the rescue maneuver,” the organization said, adding that the skipper was “in good health.”