Hagatna, Guam — Authorities found the body of one of the six missing crew members Cargo ship capsized Near the Northern Mariana Islands during a hurricane.
US Air Force divers “used a remotely operated underwater drone to search the interior of the vessel” and recovered the body on Tuesday, the US Coast Guard said in a news release.
Additional Japanese Coast Guard divers examined the ship further. The US Coast Guard said they did not find any additional crew members.
“Coast Guard aircrews continue to search for the five missing crew members and an orange, 12-person life raft in the vicinity of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands,” the news release said.
The Guard and partner agencies from Guam, Japan and New Zealand covered more than 99,000 square miles (256,000 square kilometers), the guard said this week.
The crew of the ship, called the Mariana, Notify the US Coast Guard On April 15, the 145-foot (44 m) U.S.-registered vessel lost her starboard engine while… Super Typhoon Sinlaku and necessary assistance. The guard said he lost contact with the ship the next day.
“Our thoughts are with the families of the Mariana crew members and the communities affected by this tragic accident,” Cmdr. Preston Heap, search and rescue mission coordinator for the Coast Guard Oceania District, said in a statement. “We are continuing the search in close coordination with our partners, using all available resources to support the ongoing response.”
High winds hampered initial search efforts but the ship capsized He was eventually spotted Saturday about 40 miles (64 kilometers) northeast of Bagan, one of the islands that make up the Northern Mariana Islands, a U.S. territory.
The U.S. Coast Guard said Monday that wreckage, including a partially submerged inflatable life raft, had been spotted about 110 miles (177 kilometers) from the ship.
Super Typhoon Sinlaku It struck the Northern Mariana Islandscausing wind and flood damage.