Coast Guard: All 4 Crew Members On Overturned Ship ‘Confirmed Alive’ – NPR

In this image released by the U.S. Coast Guard, a helicopter hovers over the overturned Golden Ray cargo vessel in St. Simons Sound, Ga., on Monday. Twenty of the 24 people on board had been rescued as of Sunday afternoon, when crews were forced to suspend the search because of safety concerns related to a fire on the ship.

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In this image released by the U.S. Coast Guard, a helicopter hovers over the overturned Golden Ray cargo vessel in St. Simons Sound, Ga., on Monday. Twenty of the 24 people on board had been rescued as of Sunday afternoon, when crews were forced to suspend the search because of safety concerns related to a fire on the ship.

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Updated at 1:29 p.m. ET

The U.S. Coast Guard says all four crew members missing after a cargo vessel overturned early Sunday in waters off the coast of Brunswick, Ga., are alive and that rescue crews are working to get supplies to them.

The Miami-based Coast Guard’s 7th District Southeast said in a tweet around 12:45 p.m. ET Monday: “All 4 #GoldenRay crew members are confirmed alive. Conditions unknown. Response crews will drill a hole to deliver supplies.”

Hours earlier, the Coast Guard had said on Twitter that rescue workers were making extraction plans after making contact with those still trapped aboard the Golden Ray, a 656-foot vehicle carrier.

The message included short videos of salvage crews appearing to puncture the hull of the ship.

Rescue crews have been working since Sunday to locate the missing crew members after the Golden Ray became disabled and eventually overturned in St. Simons Sound, about 80 miles south of Savannah, Ga.

Emergency responders were notified shortly after 2 a.m. ET that a ship was disabled and “listing heavy” to its port side. A total of 23 crew members and a pilot were on the vessel at the time, and 20 people had been rescued from the ship Sunday, Coast Guard officials said.

However, Capt. John Reed, commander of Coast Guard Sector Charleston, said Sunday afternoon that rescue operations had been temporarily suspended because of safety concerns related to a fire on the ship.

“As smoke and flames began to appear, our crews … assessed the situation was too risky to further go inside the vessel to attempt to locate the four individuals who remain missing at this time,” Reed said.

Investigators are still working to determine what caused the ship, which is sailing under the flag of the Marshall Islands, to overturn.

U.S. Coast Guard crews and port partners respond to a disabled cargo vessel with a fire on board Sunday in St. Simons Sound, off the coast of Brunswick, Ga.

U.S. Coast Guard via AP

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U.S. Coast Guard via AP

U.S. Coast Guard crews and port partners respond to a disabled cargo vessel with a fire on board Sunday in St. Simons Sound, off the coast of Brunswick, Ga.

U.S. Coast Guard via AP