All crew members trapped in overturned cargo ship in Georgia have been rescued
All four crew members who were trapped in the overturned cargo ship in Georgia have been rescued, the Coast Guard says.
The final crew member, who was trapped behind glass in the engineering compartment, according to the Associated Press, was pulled from the ship at about 6 p.m. Monday, the Coast Guard tweeted. The three others had been rescued earlier.
Rescuers cut into the hull at the ship’s propeller shaft room, where the four were trapped, to pull them out, the Associated Press reported.
The 656-foot, 71,000-ton Golden Ray, overturned around 2 a.m Sunday as it was turning out of the Port of Brunswick, trapping four of the 24 crew members inside, McClatchy news group reported.
Overnight, rescue workers heard tapping sounds coming from inside the ship, near the propeller, CNN reported.
As rescuers figured out the best way to free the crew from the ship, they planned to widen the hole they drilled to get water and food to them, according to CNN.
The other 20 crew members had already been safely evacuated.
It was too risky for rescuers to immediately try to get to the trapped crew or start rescue efforts, officials said in a new conference Sunday afternoon.
Fire and smoke were coming from the ship, and once they dissipated it was still unclear if the blaze was completely extinguished, officials said.
The incident is being investigated, and details about why the ship overturned have not been released.
This story was originally published September 9, 2019 at 12:04 PM with the headline "All crew members trapped in overturned cargo ship in Georgia have been rescued."
