(NEW YORK) — A massive lift boat capsized off the southern coast of Louisiana on Tuesday as severe storms moved through the region. At least six people have been rescued from the water, with the search on for more individuals, according to the U.S. Coast Guard.
SEACOR Marine said there were 18 people (employees and contractors) on board at the time the bad weather hit.
The 129-foot commercial ship flipped 8 miles south of Port Fourchon, located about 20 miles west of Grand Isle, where a Coast Guard station is located.
The U.S. Coast Guard and good Samaritan boats were responding to the scene, according to USCG Heartland. The Coast Guard received the distress call around 4:30 p.m. local time. Coast Guard officials said they arrived to the spot of the radio beacon with 30 minutes.
One person was rescued by the Coast Guard Cutter Glenn Harris, while another Coast Guard ship from Grand Isle located a second person. The other four people were rescued by good Samaritans, the USCG said.
SEACOR Marine, which owns the ship, confirmed to ABC News that the lift boat involved is the SEACOR Power. It’s used in oil and gas exploration.
In addition to the Glenn Harris and two 45-foot ships from Coast Guard station Grand Isle, the Coast Guard Cutter Amberjack, an MH-65 Dolphin helicopter from the USCG station New Orleans and an HC-144 Ocean Sentry airplane from USCG station Corpus Christi were searching for additional people in the water.
Severe storms swept through southern Louisiana on Tuesday. A flash flood watch and wind advisory were in effect for Grand Isle with the National Weather Service predicting 1 to 2 inches of rain and wind gusts over 50 mph Tuesday night.
The Coast Guard station in Grand Isle, which is about two hours south of New Orleans, had shared several photos of flooding and wind damage just hours before the reports of the capsized ship.
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