Coast Guard locates life ring from ship lost off Bahamas
ELEUTHERA, Bahamas -- The U.S. Coast Guard has located a life ring from a cargo ship that lost power and communications during Hurricane Joaquin and is now the subject of an intense search in the southeastern Bahamas.
Coast Guard Chief Petty Officer Ryan Doss says the life ring was 120 miles northeast of Crooked Island. That's about 70 miles northeast of the last known position of the El Faro before it lost contact with authorities with 33 people on board.
Doss says the crew of a C-130 airplane spotted the life ring Saturday and a helicopter crew confirmed it was from the El Faro. It has not been retrieved.
The Coast Guard and U.S. Navy have halted the search because of darkness and will resume Sunday.
"We no longer have any models forecasting the hurricane to come into the East Coast," he said. "But we are still going to have some bad weather."
In addition, the entire East Coast will experience dangerous surf and rip currents through the weekend, he said.
"Joaquin is going to generate a lot of wave energy," Knabb said, adding that Bermuda might issue a tropical storm or hurricane watch, depending on Joaquin's path.
