Coast Guard MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter file photo
PORTSMOUTH, Va. — The Coast Guard and other agencies are searching for a missing man near Cape Charles, Virginia, Tuesday.
Watchstanders in the Coast Guard Sector Hampton Roads Command Center in Portsmouth received notification at 2:10 a.m. that a 33-year-old Chinese crewman fell overboard the 770-foot cargo ship Lara Venture at the Cape Charles Anchorage.
The man was fastening a ladder on the anchored vessel’s starboard quarter when he fell overboard. He was last seen wearing orange coveralls and a dark blue jacket. He was not wearing a life jacket.
Sector Hampton Roads watchstanders immediately issued an urgent marine information broadcast. An MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew from Coast Guard Air Station Elizabeth City, North Carolina, launched and searched along with the crews of Coast Guard Cutter Sea Horse from Coast Guard Base Portsmouth and a Virginia pilot vessel.
A helicopter squadron from Chambers Field on Naval Station Norfolk, Virginia, was slated to relieve the Coast Guard helicopter crew around 8 a.m. this morning.
“We are working with our partner agencies to locate this man,” said Coast Guard Lt. j.g. Bradley Milliken, command duty officer for the case. “Anyone with information about the man’s whereabouts should contact the Sector Hampton Roads Command Center at 757-668-5555.”
