Saipan, Northern Mariana Islands — The search for five missing crew members of a cargo ship that capsized near the Northern Mariana Islands during a hurricane has been suspended, authorities said Wednesday.
Six people were on board the 145-foot (44-meter) ship, called the Mariana. Divers on April 21 The body of a crew member was recovered From the capsized ship.
“The decision to suspend the search is a very difficult one and is only taken after a very careful consideration of all available information,” the commander said. “Working and communicating with the families, I know how devastated they are by this outcome,” Preston Heap, of the U.S. Coast Guard Oceania Region, said in a video posted on X.
Search He added that the hurricane lasted more than 100 hours and covered an area larger than the state of California.
The search stopped two weeks after the crew notified the Coast Guard The ship lost her starboard engines And he needed help when Super Typhoon Sinlaku hit the Pacific island chain. The Coast Guard lost contact with the ship the next day.
High winds hampered initial search efforts, but the capsized ship was eventually spotted on April 18 about 40 miles (64 kilometers) northeast of Bagan, one of the islands that make up the Northern Mariana Islands, a U.S. territory.
The Coast Guard said the wreckage, which included a partially submerged inflatable life raft, was spotted about 110 miles (177 kilometers) from the ship. Heap said on Wednesday that the remaining five crew members were still missing.
“We extend our heartfelt condolences to the families of the Mariana crew, as well as the entire Saipan community,” Heap said.
Super Typhoon Sinlaku It struck the Northern Mariana Islandscausing wind and flood damage.