Missing Cargo Ship El Faro, Sank During Hurricane
Missing cargo ship El Faro, hit by powerful Hurricane Joaquin, is believed to have sunk off the Bahamas and one presumed crew member is confirmed dead, the U.S. Coast Guard said on Monday.
The captain of the 790-foot El Faro planned to bypass Hurricane Joaquin, but some kind of mechanical failure left the U.S. container ship with 33 people aboard helplessly - and tragically - adrift in the path of the powerful storm, the vessel’s owners say.
On Monday, four days after the ship vanished, the Coast Guard concluded it sank near the Bahamas in about 15,000 feet of water.
One unidentified body in a survival suit was recovered, and the search went on for any trace of the other crew members.
Survival suits are designed to help seamen float and stay warm.
But even at a water temperature of 85 degrees, hypothermia can set in quickly, Coast Guard Capt. Mark Fedor said.
He noted that the hurricane had winds of about 140 mph and waves topping 50 feet.
Hurricane Joaquin is pictured off the east coast of the United States in this handout photo provided by NOAA, taken October 1, 2015. Search-and-rescue teams on Sunday located debris appearing to belong to the cargo ship El Faro, which went missing in the eye of Hurricane Joaquin with 33 mostly American crew members aboard more than three days ago, the U.S. Coast Guard and the ship’s owner said. Picture taken October 1, 2015. (REUTERS/NOAA)
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