PORTSMOUTH, Va. — The Coast Guard is currently coordinating search efforts for four crewmembers missing from a vessel that reportedly capsized approximately 1,000 miles east of Bermuda early Thursday.
Seven other crewmembers from the Spanish-flagged fishing vessel Jose Almuiña have already been rescued by commercial vessels that were in the region.
Around 2:30 a.m. (EST), watchstanders at the U.S. Coast Guard’s Atlantic Area Command Center here received an emergency position indicating radio beacon signal from the Jose Almuiña. Using the automated mutual-assistance vessel rescue system (AMVER), the Coast Guard located, contacted and diverted two AMVER vessels, the SKS Mosel and Navig8 Stealth II, to search for the source of the EPIRB signal.
Around 7:45 a.m. the SKS Mosel located the capsized and sinking Jose Almuiña, but none of the 11 crewmembers were on board. After seeing a flare, the Navig8 Stealth II located a life raft and recovered seven people. The AMVER vessel reported to the Coast Guard that those rescued stated there were four other crewmembers who were separated when the vessel capsized.
A C-130J Hercules aircraft and crew from Coast Guard Air Station Elizabeth City, N.C., is en route to assist in the search for the missing crewmembers.
The seven crewmembers who were recovered were reported to be in good health.
Strong winds and 15-foot seas were reported by the AMVER vessels on scene.
