| Office of Public Affairs U.S. Coast Guard Seventh District |
|
|
| Press Release |
Date: March 23, 2004 Contact: |
|
SEARCH SUSPENDED, ONE MISSING SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico – The U.S. Coast Guard suspended its search last night for the remaining passenger of a 25 foot power boat that sank in rough seas 25 miles West of St. Maarten, NA Saturday. Eduardo Martinez, 22, from St Croix, U. S. Virgin Islands is still missing while the only other passenger Hans Larsen, 33, also from St. Croix, was rescued by a Good Samaritan after spending 36 hours in the water. The Coast Guard Rescue Center in San Juan received word from the French Maritime Rescue Command Center in Fort De France early Saturday morning that a sailing vessel sighted three red flares and heard a Mayday call on VHF radio from the 25-foot powerboat Investigator. The sailboat Timbee heard the Mayday call and was in contact with the two men who reported being out of flares and their boat sinking.
During the next three days the Coast Guard searched with fixed wing aircraft and helicopters for almost 40 hours for the missing men. The British Virgin Islands Police and the Dutch Navy also assisted in the search with air assets.
Larsen was located by the motor yacht Slip Stream at approx 5:30 p.m. Sunday 35 nautical miles southeast of Virgin Gorda, BVI dehydrated but in stable condition, and was taken to the local hospital in Road Town, Tortola. According to Larsen they had lifejackets onboard but were not wearing them. They remained afloat by clinging to two separate boat fenders. Larsen said he lost sight of his friend Martinez early Sunday morning.
Our sympathies are with the loved ones of Mr. Martinez, “We searched and worked closely with our international counterparts, it's unfortunate we were not able to locate him,” said OS1 Eric Rivera, Coast Guard controller. "This case is a telling story of why the Coast Guard supports and encourages the wearing of life jackets," he added.
### The U.S. Coast Guard is a military, maritime, multi-mission service within the |
printer friendly