Body of missing captain recovered from Mississippi River

The following is the text of a news release from the U.S. Coast Guard:

(NEW ORLEANS) — A good Samaritan recovered the body of a missing person in the water and transferred the body to Ascension Parish Sheriff’s Office near Donaldsonville, La., on Tuesday.

Dead is Ambarish Parekh, 69, of LaPlace, La.

Parekh was reported to have fallen off a crew boat while transiting to another vessel. He was last seen wearing a blue shirt and long pants with a personal flotation device on the Lower Mississippi River near mile marker 179.

Involved with the search were Coast Guard Station New Orleans 29-foot response boat-small crews; Coast Guard Marine Safety Unit Baton Rouge 29-foot response boat-small crew; Coast Guard Air Station New Orleans MH-65 Dolphin helicopter crews; Coast Guard Aviation Training Center Mobile HC-144 crews; Ascension Parish Sherriff's Office, and the Port of South Louisiana.

The Coast Guard searched a combined total of 223 square miles from mile marker 180 to the Crescent City Connection Bridge in New Orleans.

PREVIOUS REPORTS

(NEW ORLEANS) — The Coast Guard has suspended its search for a missing person in the water near Donaldsonville, La., on Monday evening.

The search for Capt. Ambarish Parekh, 65, was suspended at 10:23 p.m. Monday after two days of searching a combined total of 223 miles from the Crescent City Connection Bridge in New Orleans to mile marker 180.

Parekh was reported to have fallen off a crew boat while transiting to another vessel. He was last seen wearing a blue shirt and long pants with a personal flotation device on the Lower Mississippi River near mile marker 179.  

The Coast Guard searched with boats, helicopters and an Ascension Parish fire boat crew.

(NEW ORLEANS) — The Coast Guard is searching for a person in the water on the Lower Mississippi River near mile marker 179, near Donaldsonville, La., on Sunday.

Missing is Capt. Ambarish Parekh, last seen wearing a blue shirt and long pants with a personal flotation device.

Watch standers at Coast Guard Sector New Orleans were notified at 9:30 a.m. by the operator of the tugboat Charlotte, via the Vessel Traffic Service. It was reported that the missing man was attempting to board the freight vessel African Raptor from a crew boat and fell off a ramp connecting the two vessels.

Involved in the search are Coast Guard Station New Orleans 29-foot response boat-small crew, Coast Guard Air Station New Orleans MH-65 Dolphin helicopter crew, Coast Guard Aviation Training Center Mobile HC-144 crew, Ascension Parish Sheriff's Office, and the New Orleans Port Authority.

Anyone with information is asked to contact the Sector New Orleans Command Center at (504) 365-2209.

By Professional Mariner Staff