The United States Coast Guard said US Air Force divers used an underwater remotely operated drone to search the vessel’s interior and recovered the body on Tuesday (April 21).
Authorities have recovered the body of one of six missing crew members after a cargo vessel, Mariana, capsized during severe weather near the Northern Mariana Islands.
The United States Coast Guard said US Air Force divers used an underwater remotely operated drone to search the vessel’s interior and recovered the body on Tuesday (April 21). Divers from the Japan Coast Guard conducted further inspections but found no additional crew members.
Search teams continue to look for the remaining five missing crew and an orange 12-person life raft, covering more than 99,000 square miles with support from agencies in Guam, Japan and New Zealand.
What happened
The 145-foot US-registered vessel reported a starboard engine failure on April 15 as Super Typhoon Sinlaku intensified, prompting a distress call to the Coast Guard. Contact with the ship was lost the following day.
The overturned vessel was later located about 40 miles northeast of Pagan Island. Debris, including a partially submerged inflatable life raft, was spotted roughly 110 miles away.
Weather impact
Super Typhoon Sinlaku brought destructive winds and flooding to the Northern Mariana Islands, significantly hampering early rescue efforts and delaying response operations.
“Our hearts are with the families of the Mariana crew members,” said Cmdr. Preston Hieb, adding that search efforts are continuing in close coordination with international partners.
