Coast Guard Says Golden Ray Crew Members Alive, ‘Will Drill a Hole’ for Supplies

At least four crew members were reported missing after a cargo ship flipped at a port in Georgia. Google Maps

The U.S. Coast Guard said that four crew members stuck in the capsized Golden Ray cargo vessel will be extracted.

“All 4 #GoldenRay crew members are confirmed alive. Conditions unknown. Response crews will drill a hole to deliver supplies,” the Coast Guard wrote on Twitter at about 12:45 p.m. ET.

It added that salvage crews are working on an extraction plan. “This is a slow, but safe process,” the Coast Guard tweeted at around 1 p.m. ET.

Coast Guard Lt. Lloyd Heflin told ABC News, the hole was drilled on the morning of Sept. 9.

On Sept. 9, the Coast Guard also posted a video, saying that crews “are currently assessing the #GoldenRay hull for possible entry.”

Heflin told The Associated Press that contact was made after rescuers discovered that “the early indication is they are on board and OK.”

Coast Guard crews and port partners respond to a disabled cargo vessel with a fire on board in St. Simons Sound, Ga., on Sept. 8, 2019. U.S. Coast Guard via AP

Onboard the ship were 23 crew members from South Korea and a harbor pilot from the Port of Brunswick, ABC reported. However, the BBC reported that six South Koreans and 13 Filipinos were rescued.

Officials said the remaining crew members that are trapped are inside the engine room.

The South Korean foreign ministry stated that the crew “apparently tapped back three times” when rescuers banged on the hull, the New York Post reported.

According to MarineTraffic.com, the Golden Ray was heading from Georgia to Baltimore. The ship was built in 2017 and was carrying vehicles when it tipped.

The Coast  Guard, in a news release on Sept. 8, said the cause of the accident is under investigation.

Capt. John Reed, commander of Coast Guard Sector Charleston, told NPR on Sunday afternoon that rescue operations were temporarily suspended after a fire broke out 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.Ohio Woman Accidentally Shoots Daughter After She Surprises Her at Home