Update 6:11 p.m. EDT Sept. 9: The U.S. Coast Guard reports that the fourth trapped crew member has been rescued.
Update 3:30 p.m. EDT Sept. 9 The US Coast Guard has rescued three of four South Korean crew members trapped aboard.
VIDEO of third crewman’s arrival to shore.
Update 11 a.m. EDT Sept. 9: The Associated Press reported that U.S. Coast Guard officials say rescuers have confirmed that all four missing crew members are alive. The discovery was made when rescuers drilled into the ship’s hull. Earlier story below:
The search for survivors from the cargo vessel overturned at St. Simons Island off the Intracoastal Waterway continued today with the local Coast Guard commander saying some of the missing may be alive inside the ship.
The Brunswick News reported that the Coast Guard has heard taping from inside the vessel. The newspaper quoted Coast Guard Station Brunswick commander Justin Irwin as saying that rescuers are tapping back on the hull to assure those inside that they are not forgotten.
U.S. Coast Guard search and rescue personnel continued attempts Sunday afternoon to stabilize the freighter Golden Ray, a necessary step in order to resume rescue efforts for four South Korean crewman who remain unaccounted for after the ship overturned in the St. Simons Sound earlier in the dark morning hours.
“We don’t know if it is all four of them, but there has to be something in there tapping back at us,” Irwin said.
The cargo ship Golden Ray tipped over near the Intracostal Waterway at the mouth of Fancy Bluff Creek overnight Sunday.
Irwin was quoted in the Brunswick News as saying that 18 people were rescued and four were unaccounted for. The ship, called a Ro Ro, delivers cars and other vehicles that roll on and roll off docks.
“We’re not sure exactly what occurred,” Irwin told the newspaper. “One of the Ro Ros coming in overturned and is sitting on its side. Obviously, it is a stability thing.”
