WASHINGTON, Nov. 1 (UPI) — The U.S. Navy found the wreckage of a cargo ship believed to be the El Faro that sank during Hurricane Joaquin with 33 aboard.
Investigators using underwater detection equipment located a vessel at a depth of about 15,000 feet in an area where the El Faro was last known to be. The ship went missing near the Bahamas on Oct. 1 during the category 4 storm with 28 Americans and five Polish nationals aboard. One body was foundin the days after the ship went missing.
“The target identified by Orion (sonar) is consistent with a 790-foot cargo ship, which from sonar images appears to be in an upright position and in one piece,” the National Transportation Safety Board said
The NTSB, which is investigating the disappearance, contracted with the Navy to locate the ship and document the wreckage and debris field. Authorities said they will send equipment to the wreckage in an effort to locate the voyage data recorder, or black box, to learn what happened.
The naval ship Apache left Little Creek, Va. on Oct. 19 after being fitted with “state-of-the-art underwater detection equipment” on a mission to locate the ship. On Oct. 23, investigators trolled the area with a towed pinger locator in the water with the hopes of picking up pings from the black box.
After three days with no success, investigators searched the waters with sonar, which creates images from sound patterns.
“If the vessel is confirmed to be El Faro, CURVE-21 (sonar), outfitted with a video camera will start the documentation of the vessel and the debris field and attempt to locate and recover the voyage data recorder,” the NTSB said. “Those operations are expected to take up to 15 days to complete in ideal conditions but could take longer depending on weather and conditions encountered during the documentation process.”
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