U.S. Coast Guard Search for 12 Lost at Sea After Commercial Platform Vessel Capsizes in Rough Gulf of Mexico Seas

Seacor Power capsized Tuesday 7 nautical miles off the coast of Port Fouchon

WATCH: U.S. Coast Guard rescue crews recovered one unresponsive person and continue their search for 12 missing people from the capsized lift boat 8 miles south of PortFourchon, Louisiana. (U.S. Coast Guard video)

(FOX NEWS) – Search and rescue crews have found one deceased person at the site off the Louisiana coast where a commercial platform vessel flipped over in rough seas, the Coast Guard announced Wednesday, as a desperate search for 12 sailors who remain unaccounted for continues.

The Seacor Power capsized Tuesday afternoon about 7 nautical miles off the coast of Port Fouchon during a period of “extremely limited visibility” and challenging weather in which winds were gusting as high as 90 miles per hour and seas were 7 to 9 feet high, according to Will Watson, the sector commander of Coast Guard Sector New Orleans.

“Unfortunately, we have recovered one individual on the surface of the water who was deceased, and the search effort continues for the remaining 12,” Watson told reporters Wednesday.

“My heart and the collective heart of our team goes out to the families and to Seacor, but we are giving it all we have.”

Watson added that the 129-foot-ship, which left Port Fouchon for Main Pass around 1:30 p.m. yesterday, remains overturned and partially submerged and grounded in about 55 feet of water.

“We don’t know at this time exactly the mission they were on, our focus is that the vessel has capsized and we are trying to find the folks that remain unaccounted for,” he said.

There were 19 people on board the vessel and so far, six have been rescued and brought to safety, according to Watson.

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