What Happened?
The U.S. Coast Guard sent rescue teams off the coast of Georgia Sunday, Sept. 8, after a South Korea cargo ship caught fire near a major Georgia port, according to Reuters.
Fox News reported that the 656-foot ship “listed heavily” and rolled onto its side Sunday morning in St. Simons near Brunswick, Georgia, catching fire on its starboard side.
The Golden Ray had 23 crew members and a pilot aboard. Twenty of the crew members were evacuated by rescue teams from the ship Sunday, but three members and the pilot remained on the ship as of Sunday night.
Rescuers had determined Sunday that the fire was “too risky” and they could not go farther into the vessel. South Korea’s Foreign Ministry released a statement Monday morning, announcing that the fire that prevented the rescue had since been extinguished, according to Fox News.
According to Reuters, the ship was heading toward Baltimore carrying 4,000 cars from companies such as Hyundai Motors and Kia Motors.
The Latest
The U.S. Coast Guard announced in a Tweet Monday that they found and rescued the four other South Korea crew members aboard the ship.
“Operations are shifting to environmental protection, removing the vessel and resuming commerce,” the tweet continued.
Rescuers found the crew members by repelling down the side of the ship and drilling a hole through the hull, according to Fox News.
