12 crewmen missing in deadly capsizing

PORT FOURCHON, La. — The U.S. Coast Guard searched for 12 people missing off the coast of Louisiana on Wednesday after finding one person dead and pulling six survivors from rough seas when their commercial vessel capsized in hurricane-force winds.

Coast Guard Capt. Will Watson said winds were 80 to 90 mph and seas were 7 to 9 feet when the Seacor Power lift vessel overturned.

The bulky vessel, which has three long legs it can lower to the sea floor to become an offshore platform, flipped over Tuesday afternoon south of Port Fourchon, a major base for the U.S. oil and gas industry.

One worker was found dead on the surface of the water, Watson said at a news conference Wednesday. Asked about the prospects of the missing crew, he said: “We are hopeful.”

The relationship of those on board to ship owner Seacor Marine was not immediately clear. An employee who answered the phone Wednesday at the Houston company said he had no immediate information to provide.

The Coast Guard received a distress message from a good Samaritan at 4:30 p.m. and issued an urgent marine broadcast that prompted private vessels in the area to respond, saving four people, the agency said. Coast Guard crews rescued another two people.