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Survivors say Canadian tall ship sank in minutes

Students and crew rescued from the sinking of a Canadian-owned tall ship in the South Atlantic were back on solid land Saturday after spending up to 40 hours in life rafts after their ship capsized.

The first of 64 people on board the three-masted SV Concordia were ferried into Rio de Janeiro aboard Brazilian Navy and merchant vessels, exhausted but relieved after their long ordeal.

Wearing navy caps and borrowed clothing, 12 of those rescued held an emotional news conference in Rio. The rest were to arrive later in the afternoon on two merchant vessels.

CTV producer Ana Pereira said survivors indicated that the ship went down very quickly, slipping beneath the waves in only "a few minutes."

The ship's captain said that his vessel sank Wednesday afternoon -- a day earlier than previously reported – after being flipped on its side by a powerful gust of wind. He and his passengers and crew were rescued by merchant ships early Friday.