UPDATED 9/9, 3:30 p.m. ET: The Coast Guard reports that it has rescued two crew members of the Golden Ray. Lt. Lloyd Heflin told the Associated Press “two men have been extracted and rescuers are working on extracting a third.”
Contact was made with the crew members—who have been trapped “in the propeller shaft room near the stern of the ship”—over 24 hours after the ship flipped. Rescuers cut into the Golden Ray’s hull to get the crew members out.
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The U.S. Coast Guard is still in search of four people who remain unaccounted for after the Golden Ray, a 656-foot cargo ship with 23 crew members and a pilot onboard, was overturned Sunday morning, CNN reports.
Authorities were notified at about 2 a.m. that the ship was "listing heavy" to its left side as it was about to make a turn departing the harbor in the St. Simons Sound, off the coast of Georgia.
Coast Guard Captain John Reed confirmed that 20 people were safely evacuated, but rescue efforts were stalled when the fire that started prior to rescuers’ arrival made it difficult to determine if the flames had been properly contained, allowing them to venture further inside the vessel.
"Once salvage professionals have determined the vessel to be stable, we will identify the best option to continue our rescue efforts for the four crew remembers who remain on board," Reed said at a news conference, per CBS News.
