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Coast Guard: Cargo Ship Sank, One Body Found

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (WJZ) -- Sunk at sea! The US Coast Guard has shifted its attention to find survivors instead of El Faro, a US cargo ship caught in Hurricane Joaquin. Only one body has been discovered during a search; there were more than 30 people on board, including one man from Baltimore.

Christie Ileto has more.

The NTSB says they're now leading the investigation and sending a team down there Tuesday to figure out what went wrong.

Tireless searches have turned up no survivors from El Faro, a 790-foot-long US cargo ship the US Coast Guard says likely sank due to Hurricane Joaquin.

"We are still looking for survivors or any signs of life or any signs of that vessel," said Captain Mark Fedor, US Coast Guard.

Thirty-three crew members were on board, including Frank Hamm from Baltimore.

"This is totally unacceptable," said his wife, Rochelle.

Rochelle Hamm wants answers.

"Normally, my husband tells me their route; they have a different route to take during a storm. I don't know why they didn't just steer the ship in a different direction," she said.

Scouring 70,000 nautical square miles, crews were only able to recover damaged life rafts, a body and survival suits.

Allen Baker spent time on El Faro.

"It's a shock. It really is. A big ship like this, a big, well-maintained ship...she was a good ship," Baker, a tugboat captain, said.

Once often docked here in Baltimore, El Faro is about 40 years old and was upgraded about 10 years ago.

Now the NTSB is working to uncover what forced it off the grid.

"The backup emergency generator went out, I'm sure. Lights went out; communications were out on board the ship," said Klaus Luhta.

Luhta says the biggest challenge for investigators will be tracking down the ship---or parts of it.

"At this point, especially with the winds as strong as they were, most of that is, I'm sure, gone," Luhta said.

Thursday's distress signal was the last time El Faro was on the grid.

Sources say the gulf stream's currents are notoriously fast and debris could likely be miles from where the ship went under.

If searches for crew members turn up empty, this would be the worst disaster involving an American cargo ship since 1983, when a cargo ship carrying 25,000 pounds of coal sank off the coast of Virginia during a storm.

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