Coastguard rescued 13 Filipino crew members from a capsized cargo ship in Georgia, USA, Monday.
Aside from the 13 Filipinos, 10 South Koreans were also saved from the ship.
Rescuers believe that there was one more crew trapped in an engineering compartment inside M/V Golden Ray, a giant cargo ship that carried 4,000 vehicles when it capsized as it leaves Brunswick, bound for Baltimore.
“The same experts who got us to where we are right now are going to find a way to extract him,” Coast Guard Capt. John Reed said.
The Coast Guard used a helicopter to lift the first 20 crew members from the ship. It was too risky for the rescuers to go further inside the vessel because it already started to emit smoke and flames.
The responders did not give up and continued to look for the remaining four crew members. They had doubts if the noises they heard were from the sailors inside or from the vehicles crashing around. However, by the dawn of Monday, their spirits were lifted when the crew members responded to their taps.
“It was outstanding when I heard the news this morning that we had taps back throughout the night,” Reed said.
“They were charged up knowing the people were alive,” Reed added.
Coast Guard rescues the 3 of 4 remaining crew members as cargo ship capsized in Georgia
Rescuers rappelled down the hull of M/V Golden Ray’s side, Monday morning. Lt. Lloyd Heflin coordinated the search.
Heflin said they found the three men in a room close to the propeller shaft, near the bottom of the stern. Then they drilled a 3-inch hole to start. Heflin said they found the three crew members were “on board and OK.”
The team continued drilling until they opened it enough. They sent down a ladder and the rescued men climbed out.
Hyundai Glovis owned M/V Golden Ray which transports cars for Hyundai and Kia automakers as well as others.
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