Rescue Team Finds Body Of 1 Among 6 Missing Crew After Super Typhoon Overturns Their Ship

The body of one crew member from the cargo ship Mariana, which overturned near the Northern Mariana Islands during Super Typhoon Sinlaku, has been recovered by the search team.

However, 5 other crew members remain missing.

On Tuesday, U.S. Air Force and Japanese Coast Guard divers used underwater drones to search the overturned vessel but found no signs of the remaining crew.

Initial search efforts were hampered by the weather, but the ship was eventually located on Saturday, approximately 40 miles northeast of the island of Pagan.

The Mariana is a 145-foot U.S.-registered ship which reported losing its starboard engine on April 15 as the weather worsened.

Sinlaku, the strongest tropical cyclone of the year, battered the U.S. territory with winds of 150 mph, causing significant flooding and damage.

The international search operation, involving agencies from the U.S., Guam, Japan, and New Zealand, has covered over 99,000 square miles, an area comparable to the size of Oregon.

On Monday, debris and a partially submerged inflatable life raft were spotted 110 miles from the wreckage.

While international laws require cargo ships to carry life rafts stocked with 30 days of supplies, deploying such equipment in 150 mph winds is nearly impossible.

Cmdr. Preston Hieb of the Coast Guard Oceania District expressed condolences to the families as the search for a second, 12-person orange life raft continues.

While searchers hope the missing crew has safety equipment that could extend their survival time, there are also concerns regarding whether the debris found belongs to the Mariana or another vessel.

Meanwhile, island ports have begun reopening to commercial traffic, with the Coast Guard delivering emergency supplies to local communities affected by the typhoon.