Six rescued, several missing after boat capsizes off Louisiana coast

[April 14, 2021]    (Reuters) - Six people were rescued near the coast of Louisiana after a commercial boat capsized about eight miles off Port Fourchon on the Gulf of Mexico, the U.S. Coast Guard said late Tuesday.

A Coast Guard Station Grand Isle 45-foot Respone Boat-Medium crew heads toward a commercial lift vessel after it capsized in a storm, in the water 8 miles south of Grand Isle, Louisiana, U.S., April 13, 2021. U.S. Coast Guard Photo courtesy of Coast Guard Cutter Glenn Harris/Handout via REUTERS

About a dozen people are still missing after the 129-foot commercial lift vessel capsized in a storm, according to local media reports citing authorities. There was no immediate response from the coast guard to a Reuters request for comment on the number of missing people and potential casualities.

"We're still searching for more people," a spokesman for the Coast Guard 8th District told the New York Times https://www.nytimes.com/
live/2021/04/13/us/grand-isle-louisiana-vessel-capsize.

The accident led to a large rescue effort from the coast guard and civilians after distress calls were made on Tuesday evening. Two cutters, two boats, a helicopter and four civilian vessels have been deployed for the rescue.

There were widespread reports of high winds, with some hail and flooding in southeastern Louisiana, according to the National Weather Service. There is a threat of severe weather overnight in the region and a flash flood watch is in effect till Thursday morning.

Eighteen people had been on board the vessel before it capsized, Seacor Marine, the transportation company that owns the vessel, told the NYT.

(Reporting by Aakriti Bhalla in Bengaluru, Editing by William Maclean)

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