Coast Guard searching in Pacific for 6 after losing contact with boat following Typhoon Sinlaku
HAGATNA, Guam — The US Coast Guard was searching for six people after losing contact with their disabled boat off the coast of Guam following Typhoon Sinlaku.
The crew of the 145-foot (44-meter) dry cargo ship, named Mariana, notified the Coast Guard on April 15 that the boat had lost its starboard engine and needed help, Private Third Class Avery Tibbets said early Saturday morning.
But communications with the ship were lost on the afternoon of April 16, and a Coast Guard HC-130 Hercules aircraft was launched to search for the six people on board.
The plane had to return to Guam due to high winds, but search efforts were expected to resume at first light, Tibbets said.
Super Typhoon Sinlaku began hitting the Northern Mariana Islands earlier this week, causing damage on the islands of Tinian and Saipan and flash flooding in Guam, site of several U.S. military bases.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency and several other federal agencies are stepping up their response to Typhoon Sinlaku as dangerous weather conditions ease and shelter-in-place orders begin to be lifted in the islands, Robert Fenton, FEMA regional administrator for Region 9, which includes Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands, said Friday.
