Last Crew Member Aboard Capsized Cargo Ship Is Rescued After Being Trapped in Control Room
The last remaining crew member still aboard the capsized Golden Ray cargo ship has been rescued.
The South Korean crew member, who had been trapped in the vessel’s engineering control room behind a pane of glass, was safely removed on Monday afternoon, the U.S. Coast Guard announced on Twitter.
Unlike three others aboard who were trapped in another area and rescued earlier in the day, the final crew member did not have access to fresh water or food, Coast Guard Capt. John Reed said at a news conference on Monday, NBC News reported.
Three other crew members were rescued earlier on Monday, and were found together in the same spot in the engine room, Reed said.
Video footage from the USCG show the final crew member looking happy as he finally arrived to shore for medical care. Off-camera, someone can be heard saying, “Daylight, man. Daylight,” as the crew member, barefoot and wrapped in a blanket, walked by. Someone else off-camera says, “Good job, buddy!”
Now that the crew member has been rescued, all crew members who were aboard the ship are accounted for, the USCG said in their tweet. The USCG will now shift their focus to removing the vessel from the water, environmental protection and resuming commerce.
.@USCG and rescue crews have extracted the final #GoldenRay crew member safely. All crew members are accounted for. Operations will now shift fully to environmental protection, removing the vessel and resuming commerce. #HappeningNow #BreakingNews #Breaking pic.twitter.com/YgEM6Eb2qO
— USCGSoutheast (@USCGSoutheast) September 9, 2019
.@USCG Capt. John Reed, the incident commander who was personally on scene, had this to say after the final #GoldenRay crew member was rescued. #HappeningNow #BREAKING pic.twitter.com/1MhSCVjPsD
— USCGSoutheast (@USCGSoutheast) September 9, 2019
A @USCG Station Brunswick crew successfully transported the final #GoldenRay crewmember to @GlennCountyOES EMS crews for further medical care. #HappeningNow #BreakingNews #BREAKING pic.twitter.com/pGJg2cV4Cy
— USCGSoutheast (@USCGSoutheast) September 9, 2019
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Reed called the rescue the “best day” of his career, according to another video shared by the USCG.
“That is amazing. The best day of my career, because you guys did that,” Reed says in the video, which shows several rescuers and the final crew member. “Outstanding. Thank you.”
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The four trapped crew members were aboard the Golden Ray, a Hyundai Glovis cargo ship, which caught fire and capsized early Sunday morning off the coast of Brunswick, Georgia, NBC News previously reported. Transporting cars, the massive 656-foot vessel was on its way from the Colonel’s Island Terminal in Georgia to Baltimore.
The Golden Ray was carrying 24 people at the time of its capsizing, including an American pilot and South Korean and Filipino crew members. Five of those aboard were rescued by helicopter, and 15 were rescued by boat after the Coast Guard received distress calls around 2 a.m. on Sunday, NBC News reported.
The cause for the capsizing is still under investigation.
