The following is a compilation of news releases from the U.S. Coast Guard:
(PORTSMOUTH, Va.) — The Coast Guard has suspended its search for a missing man near Cape Charles, Va., on Tuesday.
Watch standers in the Coast Guard Sector Hampton Roads Command Center in Portsmouth received notification at 2:10 a.m. that a 33-year-old Chinese crewman fell overboard from the 770-foot cargo ship Lara Venture at the Cape Charles Anchorage.
The man was fastening a ladder on the anchored vessel's starboard quarter when he fell overboard. He was last seen wearing orange coveralls and a dark blue jacket. He was not wearing a life jacket.
A Coast Guard air crew from Air Station Elizabeth City, N.C., and the crews of Coast Guard cutter Sea Horse and Station Cape Charles searched for approximately 12 hours. The search area covered about 112 square miles. Also assisting in the search was the Navy helicopter squadron HSC2 from Chambers Field on Naval Station Norfolk, Va., and a Virginia Pilot Association boat crew.
"Suspending a search is one of the most difficult choices we have to make in the Coast Guard, and several factors — water temperature, weather conditions, and length of time the person has been missing — inform the decision," said Coast Guard Capt. Rick Wester, commander, Sector Hampton Roads. "We extend our thoughts and prayers to the sailor's family and fellow crewmen."
