Coast Guard to Send Dive Team to Search Sunken Boat for Passengers Off Mississippi Coast

GULFPORT, MS '- The U.S. Coast Guard is preparing to send a dive team down to search a sunken boat off the coast of Ship Island in Mississippi. The boat, 163 feet, named the Sandy Point, collided during the night with a 660' container boat named Eurus London and sank off the coast of Ship Island in approximately 25 feet of water.

A total of 16 passengers were on board the Sandy Point. Eleven of the passengers were rescued by a pilot boat named "Frosty Mom" and two others swam to safety aboard the Eurus London, the vessel the Sandy Point hit. A search and rescue mission for three missing fishermen from the Sandy Point has been fruitless through the night, bringing the Coast Guard to take other measures.

The collision occurred about 8 miles south of Gulfport, Mississippi between Cat Island and Ship Island around 9:00 pm on Wednesday, May 18, 2011.

Only one victim has been publicly identified, but family members of all the missing fishermen have gathered at the Coast Guard Station in Gulfport, Mississippi. The fishermen identified as missing is the cook, Lindsey Tucker, age 58.

The Department of Marine Resources Marine Patrol is assisting in the search and rescue mission, as well as a member from the Biloxi Police Department who will dive with the U.S. Coast Guard team of five.

The collision resulted in a oil spill from the sunken vessel. A skimmer used in last year's historic British Petroleum Oil Spill in the Gulf of Mexico is on the scene. So far only a mild sheen of oil has been reported.

Source: Sun Herald