HOUSTON A salvage crew working to raise the tug vessel that sank in the Houston Ship Channel recovered what is believed to be the vessel s missing crewmember Thursday.
The victim, a man, was found deceased by divers from TNT Marine, a salvage company hired to dive on the vessel Thursday afternoon.
Rescue crews were searching forthe missing man Thursday afterthe tugboat sank in the Houston Ship Channel near the Lyondell plant.
Coast Guard officials said they received a call around 10:30 p.m. Wednesday saying the J.R. Nichols, a 56-foot tugboat, had gone under in the Sims Bayou turning basin with five people onboard.
Workers at the Lyondell plant saw the boat sink, and they were able to rescue four of the crewmembers. They were taken to Memorial Hermann and have since been released.
Two Coast Guard rescue boats and a helicopter were dispatched to the scene, and crews starting searching for the fifth member of the tugboat crew. An HPD dive team, the Harris County Sheriff s Department and the Port Authority were assisting the Coast Guard.
Officials closed the Ship Channel from the Bopack facility to Sims Bayou so rescuers could conduct their search.
The more the time passes, it becomes a bigger concern, but people have been found longer periods of time than this, so we are going to continue the search and rescue efforts for now, Captain Whitehead said.
The vessel was carrying about 10,000 gallons of diesel fuel. Officials said about 1,000 gallons have leaked into the channel since the sinking, and crews are working to plug the tugboat s vents and contain the leak.
It was unclear what caused the J.R. Nichols to sink.
The identity of the missing man was not released.
As of noon on Thursday, about ten vessels were being held up by the search efforts.
