The multi-day Seacor accident search and rescue effort by the U.S. Coast Guard and others will come to a solemn end on Monday at sunset, with eight of the 19 original crew members left unaccounted for and presumed dead. Six of the Seacor Power crew members were rescued directly following with capsizing of the oil rig lift boat. The remains of five crew members were retrieved from the waters of the Gulf but not from inside the overturned watercraft. As of Monday, with the number of bodies recovered together with those individuals that are yet to be accounted for and will be presumed deceased, the Seacor accident is the worst oil rig lift boat incident of its kind in history.
Officials from the U.S. Coast Guard and the National Transportation Safety Board as well executives from the company that owns the Seacor Power held a media briefing on Monday afternoon. During the briefing, they highlighted the search and rescue issues that were undertaken over the course of almost a week since the catastrophic capsizing of the Seacor Power:
Rescue personnel from the U.S. Coast Guard were at the scene of the Seacor accident within 30 minutes of the vessel capsizing as the result of a tropical force storm.
- A number of crew members were found clinging to the hull of the overturned oil rig lift boat. Despite the horrific weather conditions, the Coast Guard was able to rescue three of the five individuals directly upon their arrival.
- Coast Guard rescuers dropped lifejackets and radios to two of the other crew members on the hull, individuals whose storm conditions prevented an immediate rescue. These two individuals were able to make their way back into the capsized boat (evidently into an area in which an air pocket was created and provided relative safety for at least some period of time).
- Two people who evidently had been on the hull at some juncture slipped into the water to their deaths. Their remains were recovered from the Gulf when a break in the weather occurred.
- Three other individuals were rescued from the water at some juncture, evidently not particularly long after the Seacor accident occurred.
- The remains of three other crew members have been found at different locations in the Gulf, in relatively close proximity to the overturned Seacor Power.
- The Coast Guard will continue search and rescue operations until sunset on Monday. At that juncture, the work of the Coast Guard officially will be declared a rescue operation.
- Private divers hired by the company that owns Seacor Power will continue their operation in searching through the maze-like structure of the capsized lift boat for remaining crew members.
We do know that Seacor Power left Port Fourchon when a horrific storm was predicted for the area in the Gulf of Mexico where the watercraft was scheduled to travel. The company that owned the vessel evidently was well-advised of the pending storm but nonetheless gave the order to go to sea.
Within three hours and eight miles from the port, hurricane-force winds pummeled the Seacor Power. Violent, high waves overtook the vessel. The powerful storm capsized the craft, evidently leaving crewmembers no real-time to take evasive or emergency action. Indeed, those who were rescued after the Seacor accident evidently lacked even sufficient time to don lifejackets.
If you’ve lost a family member in the devastating Seacor accident, you undoubtedly have a number of painful questions about your situation and the loss of your loved one. The Doan Law Firm is here for you. You can connect with a compassionate, experienced, tenacious Seacor accident lawyer from our firm by calling us at (800) 349-0000 any time of the day or night. We will keep our phone line staffed 24 hours a day, seven days a week for you.
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