El Faro News Latest: U.S. Hope Raises for Cargo Ship Lost in Hurricane Joaquin as U.S. Coast Guard Spots Life Ring
More than three days after El Faro went missing in the eye of hurricane Joaquin, the U.S. Coast Guard has raised hopes for the lives of the 33 crew members on board the ship, 28 of them Americans, as members of the rescue team spotted a 225-square-mile field of debris believed to be that of the lost boat.
The debris field included loads of Styrofoam, pieces of wood, a cargo door, several fenders that appear to be part of a ship, and several 55-gallon drums, as reported by a Coast Guard spokesperson for Fox News.
Earlier in the day, other items were seen in the area near the last known position of the missing cargo ship, the items including some containers, materials that appear to be parts of a ship's deck, and oil sheen.
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The latest piece collected from the debris field was a life ring that has been confirmed to belong to 735-foot-long El Faro.
The ship vanished on Thursday when Hurricane Joaquin started its assault on the Bahamas. It was en route to San Juan, Puerto Rico, from Jackson Florida, and sent notification to officials at around 7 a.m. that the ship had lost power. The notice was sent from an area near the eastern Bahamas in Crooked Island, which was one of the islands that Joaquin slammed.
Captain Mark Fedor, chef of response for the 7th Coast Guard District in Miami, said the vessel was "very close" to the eye of the storm when the crew reported that power was cut.
Efforts to locate the ship after it sent the notice included the deployment of two Air Force C-130 Hurricane Hunter aircrafts, all to no avail of reestablishing communications with the cargo ship.
Meanwhile, families of the missing crew gathered at a seafarers' union hall in Jacksonville, Florida on Sunday afternoon with Tote Maritime executives and Coast Guard members as they await news of the latest update regarding signs of life in the spotted debris field.
