KMXT 100.1 FM Public Radio in Kodiak, Alaska
The Coast Guard has suspended its search for a crewman missing from a freighter in the North Pacific. The search for 37-year-old Yom Kai Bao Fang of China was suspended after a search that began on Thursday.
Yom apparently fell overboard from the 685-foot container ship Sao Paulo approximately 754 miles southwest of Kodiak.
Yom was last seen aboard the ship at 11:30 a.m. Thursday and was discovered missing approximately seven hours later when he didn’t report for watch.
The Coast Guard 17th District Rescue Coordination Center in Juneau was notified of the missing man at approximately 11 p.m. Thursday and issued an urgent marine information broadcast to request the assistance of any vessels in the area.
An HC-130 Hercules from Air Station Kodiak was launched at 1:22 a.m. and reached the search area at 4:20 a.m. where it searched for more than five hours. A second Hercules was launched at 12:34 p.m. and arrived on scene about 3 p.m. searching for three hours.
Weather conditions in the search area were seas of six feet, winds of 23 mph and a water temperature of 59 degrees. The man was wearing a light blue jacket and dark blue pants when he was last seen.
