UPDATE 2: Coast Guard searching for missing container ship caught in hurricane Joaqui

[The Patriot]

Rear Adm. Scott Buschman, commander of the Coast Guard 7th District, receives an update brief for the missing cargo ship El Faro at the Coast Guard 7th District in Miami Oct. 3, 2015. Coast Guard search crews have covered more than 850 square nautical miles in the search for the El Faro crew. (Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Jon-Paul Rios)

Petty Officer 1st Class Antonio Lockhart, watchstander at Coast Guard 7th District Command Center, updates search information regarding the missing cargo ship El Faro at the Coast Guard 7th District Command Center in Miami Oct. 3, 2015. Watchstanders are working around the clock to gather the latest information for the operators searching. (Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Jon-Paul Rios)

EDITOR'S NOTE: Please click on images for high resolution download.

MIAMI — The Coast Guard aircrews resumed the search for a missing container ship with 33 crewmembers aboard near Crooked Island, Bahamas.

The El Faro, a 790-foot roll on, roll off, cargo ship, departed Jacksonville, Florida, Sept. 29, en route to San Juan, Puerto Rico. At approximately 7:30 a.m. Thursday, watchstanders at the Coast Guard Atlantic Area command center in Portsmouth, Virginia, received an Inmarsat satellite notification stating the El Faro was beset by Hurricane Joaquin, had lost propulsion and had a 15-degree list. The crew reported the ship had previously taken on water, but that all flooding had been contained. The El Faro has not been heard from for more than 48 hours.

Coast Guard search and rescue crews resumed search efforts early Saturday with a HC-130 Hercules fixed-wing aircraft from Coast Guard Air Station Clearwater, Florida.

Coast Guard search crews covered more than 850 square nautical miles Friday in the search for the El Faro crew but hurricane force winds and 20 to 30-foot swells hampered search efforts.

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