NASSAU, Bahamas (AP) – An intensive search by U.S. Coast Guard and Navy aircraft has turned up a life ring but no other sign of a cargo ship with 33 people on board that lost power and communications off the southeastern Bahamas during Hurricane Joaquin.
The search covered a large expanse of the Atlantic Ocean near Crooked Island for the El Faro, which was taking on water as it was battered by massive waves at the height of the hurricane. The search was halted at nightfall and was expected to resume Sunday.
Authorities don’t know yet what happened to the ship or whether the discovery of the life ring means that the crew were forced to abandon the ship, said Chief Petty Officer Ryan Doss, a Coast Guard spokesman in Miami.
“There are plenty of instances where things get torn off a ship in heavy winds,” Doss said. “It even happens to Coast Guard cutters.”
The life ring was spotted 120 miles (193 kilometers) northeast of Crooked Island, about 70 miles (113 kilometers) from the last known position of the El Faro before authorities lost contact with it on Thursday as Joaquin raged through that section of the Bahamas as a powerful Category 4 hurricane.