Worried family members were waiting Friday to hear the fate of 11 workers still missing after a lift boat capsized earlier this week off Louisiana while the Coast Guard confirmed it pulled a second body from the Gulf of Mexico's waters.
Rescuers in the air and the sea have been searching for the 19 workers who were aboard the vessel, which is designed to support offshore oil rigs, when it overturned Tuesday in rough weather about 8 miles (13 kilometers) south of the Louisiana coast.
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Worried family members were waiting Friday to hear the fate of 11 workers still missing after a lift boat capsized earlier this week off Louisiana while the Coast Guard confirmed it pulled a second body from the Gulf of Mexico's waters.
Six people were rescued Tuesday shortly after the vessel capsized, and one other body was recovered from the water Wednesday. The second body, that of Ernest Williams, 69, of Arnaudville, was found Thursday in the water about 50 miles (80 kilometers) from the partially submerged Seacor Power lift boat, the Lafourche Parish Coroner's Office said Friday. The boat has three legs designed to extend to the sea floor and raise the ship so it can serve as a platform for nearby rigs.
Divers went into the water Friday but had to come back up mid-morning as the weather became too dangerous to continue, the Coast Guard said in a news release. They resumed diving Friday afternoon.
Two of the missing workers had been communicating with rescuers by two-way radio Tuesday after the ungainly platform ship flipped over in hurricane-force winds that day. They were spotted clinging to the overturned hull but returned to seek shelter inside after a third man fell into the water and was lost.
Some relatives have expressed frustration about why the boat was out at sea in such rough weather. Walcott, who has also worked on lift boats, said the boats are not designed for travel in rough weather.
People have been providing food and other things such as gas cards so relatives of the missing can get home, he said.
Bruce Landsberg, vice chairman of the NTSB, talks to reporters as he leaves a briefing for family members by Coast Guard and NTSB officials in Port Fouchon, La., Friday, April 16, 2021. The Coast Guard has told families of missing workers that another body has been found from the lift boat capsized off the Louisiana coast and a coroner has confirmed that to a news outlet. (AP PhotoGerald Herbert)
In this photo provided by the U.S. Coast Guard, crew members of the Coast Guard Cutter Glenn Harris pull a person from the water Tuesday, April 13, 2021 after a 175-foot commercial lift boat capsized 8 miles south of Grand Isle, La. The Seacor Power, an oil industry vessel, flipped over Tuesday in a microburst of dangerous wind and high seas. (U.S. Coast Guard via AP)
NTSB officials leave a briefing for family members by Coast Guard and NTSB officials in Port Fouchon, La., Friday, April 16, 2021. The Coast Guard has told families of missing workers that another body has been found from the lift boat capsized off the Louisiana coast and a coroner has confirmed that to a news outlet. (AP PhotoGerald Herbert)
Marion Cuyler, fiancée of missing crew member Chaz Morales, talks to reporters at a fire station where family members of 12 people missing from a capsized oil industry vessel have been gathering, Thursday, April 15, 2021, in Port Fourchon, La. The lift boat capsized in the Gulf of Mexico during a storm on Tuesday, killing one with 12 others still missing. (AP PhotoGerald Herbert)
A Coast Guard representative leaves a briefing for family members by Coast Guard and NTSB officials in Port Fouchon, La., Friday, April 16, 2021. The Coast Guard has told families of missing workers that another body has been found from the lift boat capsized off the Louisiana coast and a coroner has confirmed that to a news outlet. (AP PhotoGerald Herbert)
Lafourche Parish deputies patrol along the shoreline of the Gulf of Mexico, not far from where a lift boat capsized during a storm on Tuesday, killing one with 12 others still missing, on Elmer's Island, La., Thursday, April 15, 2021. (AP PhotoGerald Herbert)
People leave a briefing for family members by Coast Guard and NTSB officials in Port Fouchon, La., Friday, April 16, 2021, after a lift boat capsized in the Gulf of Mexico during a storm on Tuesday. (AP PhotoGerald Herbert)
“Right now, we’re hoping for a miracle,” said Steven Walcott, brother of missing worker Gregory Walcott.
In this photo provided by the U.S. Coast Guard, A Coast Guard Station Grand Isle 45-foot Response Boat-medium boat crew member searches for survivors near the capsized SeaCor Power. The Seacor Power, an oil industry vessel, flipped over Tuesday, April 13, 2021 in a microburst of dangerous wind and high seas. (U.S. Coast Guard via AP)
Six people were rescued Tuesday shortly after the vessel capsized, and one other body was recovered from the water Wednesday. The second body, that of Ernest Williams, 69, of Arnaudville, was found Thursday in the water about 50 miles (80 kilometers) from the partially submerged Seacor Power lift boat, the Lafourche Parish Coroner's Office said Friday. The boat has three legs designed to extend to the sea floor and raise the ship so it can serve as a platform for nearby rigs.
The hope is that those still missing have found air pockets to survive inside the ship. But authorities haven't reported any contact with anyone inside the ship since Tuesday. On Thursday, searchers knocked on the ship’s hull without response.
Time is of the essence because any air pockets will eventually become depleted of oxygen, said Mauritius Bell, diving safety officer at the California Academy of Sciences: “At some point, it’s not survivable.”
Amanda Harris, sister of missing crewmember Gregory Walcott, talks to reporters as she leaves a briefing for family members by Coast Guard and NTSB officials in Port Fouchon, La., Friday, April 16, 2021. The Coast Guard has told families of missing workers that another body has been found from the lift boat capsized off the Louisiana coast and a coroner has confirmed that to a news outlet. AP PhotoGerald Herbert)
Divers went into the water Friday but had to come back up mid-morning as the weather became too dangerous to continue, the Coast Guard said in a news release. They resumed diving Friday afternoon.
The large housing structure above the deck of the lift boat will likely pose significant challenges for the divers, naval architect David Bourg said.
“Imagine if you take a four-story building with multiple rooms in it, turn it upside down and put it in the water and try to navigate it with a flashlight -- that’s what you’re looking at here,” said Bourg, who is also an adjunct professor at the University of New Orleans’ School of Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering.
In this photo provided by the U.S. Coast Guard, Coast Guard Station Grand Isle 45-foot Response Boat-medium boat crew members attempt to throw a hammer at the hull of the SeaCor Power. The crew was attempting to make contact with potential survivors inside the vessel. . The Seacor Power, an oil industry vessel, flipped over Tuesday, April 13, 2021 in a microburst of dangerous wind and high seas. (U.S. Coast Guard via AP)
Two of the missing workers had been communicating with rescuers by two-way radio Tuesday after the ungainly platform ship flipped over in hurricane-force winds that day. They were spotted clinging to the overturned hull but returned to seek shelter inside after a third man fell into the water and was lost.
The first person found dead was David Ledet, a 63-year-old captain from Thibodaux.
Relatives of the missing have gathered at Port Fourchon, a sprawling base for much of the offshore oil and gas industry in the Gulf of Mexico. The port, busy with cranes, cargo and heavy equipment, is where workers from across Louisiana and beyond load up on a fleet of helicopters and ships that take them to the rigs for long stretches of work.
People pause after leaving a briefing for family members by Coast Guard and NTSB officials in Port Fouchon, La., Friday, April 16, 2021, after a lift boat capsized in the Gulf of Mexico during a storm on Tuesday. (AP PhotoGerald Herbert)
Some relatives have expressed frustration about why the boat was out at sea in such rough weather. Walcott, who has also worked on lift boats, said the boats are not designed for travel in rough weather.
“It’s nerve-wracking” for relatives waiting for news, said Chett Chiasson, executive director of the Lafourche Parish port, where families of the workers gathered Friday for a briefing on rescue efforts.
“Obviously there’s some frustration there, not knowing about their loved one and not hearing from their loved one,” he said. At the same time, he said: “There’s still some hope there.”
In this photo provided by the U.S. Coast Guard, crew members of the Coast Guard Cutter Glenn Harris scan the water while searching for those missing Tuesday, April 13, 2021, after a 175-foot commercial lift boat capsized 8 miles south of Grand Isle, La. The Seacor Power, an oil industry vessel, flipped over Tuesday in a microburst of dangerous wind and high seas. (U.S. Coast Guard via AP)
People have been providing food and other things such as gas cards so relatives of the missing can get home, he said.
Martin contributed from Woodstock, Ga. Associated Press reporters Janet McConnaughey and Rebecca Santana contributed to this report.
This story has been corrected to show that the second body was found on Thursday night, not Friday.
Marion Cuyler, right, fiancée of missing crew member Chaz Morales, and an unidentified man, talk on their phones at a fire station where family members of 12 people missing from a capsized oil industry vessel have been gathering, Thursday, April 15, 2021, in Port Fourchon, La. The lift boat capsized in the Gulf of Mexico during a storm on Tuesday, killing one with 12 others still missing. (AP PhotoGerald Herbert)
Bruce Landsberg, vice chairman of the NTSB, talks to reporters as he leaves a briefing for family members by Coast Guard and NTSB officials in Port Fouchon, La., Friday, April 16, 2021. The Coast Guard has told families of missing workers that another body has been found from the lift boat capsized off the Louisiana coast and a coroner has confirmed that to a news outlet. (AP PhotoGerald Herbert)
In this photo provided by the U.S. Coast Guard, crew members of the Coast Guard Cutter Glenn Harris pull a person from the water Tuesday, April 13, 2021 after a 175-foot commercial lift boat capsized 8 miles south of Grand Isle, La. The Seacor Power, an oil industry vessel, flipped over Tuesday in a microburst of dangerous wind and high seas. (U.S. Coast Guard via AP)
NTSB officials leave a briefing for family members by Coast Guard and NTSB officials in Port Fouchon, La., Friday, April 16, 2021. The Coast Guard has told families of missing workers that another body has been found from the lift boat capsized off the Louisiana coast and a coroner has confirmed that to a news outlet. (AP PhotoGerald Herbert)
Marion Cuyler, fiancée of missing crew member Chaz Morales, talks to reporters at a fire station where family members of 12 people missing from a capsized oil industry vessel have been gathering, Thursday, April 15, 2021, in Port Fourchon, La. The lift boat capsized in the Gulf of Mexico during a storm on Tuesday, killing one with 12 others still missing. (AP PhotoGerald Herbert)
A Coast Guard representative leaves a briefing for family members by Coast Guard and NTSB officials in Port Fouchon, La., Friday, April 16, 2021. The Coast Guard has told families of missing workers that another body has been found from the lift boat capsized off the Louisiana coast and a coroner has confirmed that to a news outlet. (AP PhotoGerald Herbert)
Lafourche Parish deputies patrol along the shoreline of the Gulf of Mexico, not far from where a lift boat capsized during a storm on Tuesday, killing one with 12 others still missing, on Elmer's Island, La., Thursday, April 15, 2021. (AP PhotoGerald Herbert)
People leave a briefing for family members by Coast Guard and NTSB officials in Port Fouchon, La., Friday, April 16, 2021, after a lift boat capsized in the Gulf of Mexico during a storm on Tuesday. (AP PhotoGerald Herbert)