HAGATNA, Guam (AP) — Authorities have found the body of one of the six missing crew members from a cargo ship that overturned near the Northern Mariana Islands during a typhoon.
The divers “used an underwater remotely operated drone to search the interior of the vessel” and recovered the body Tuesday, the U.S. Coast Guard said in a news release.
The crew of the ship, called the Mariana, notified the U.S. Coast Guard on April 15 that the 145-foot (44-meter) U.S.-registered vessel lost its starboard engine during Super Typhoon Sinlaku and needed assistance. The guard said it lost contact with the ship the next day.
Heavy wind hindered initial search efforts, but the overturned ship was eventually spotted Saturday about 40 miles (64 kilometers) northeast of Pagan, one of the islands that make up the Northern Marianas, which is a U.S. territory.
The Coast Guard said Monday that boats and divers had been deployed and would try to use an underwater drone to search the overturned ship. Debris including a partially submerged inflatable life raft was spotted about 110 miles (177 kilometers) from the ship.
Super Typhoon Sinlaku battered the Northern Mariana Islands, causing wind damage and flooding.
