US Coast Guard suspends search for survivors after strike on alleged drug vessel in Pacific

By Ahmet Salih Alacaci

WASHINGTON (AA) - The US Coast Guard on Friday announced that it suspended search efforts for survivors who jumped overboard when their alleged drug-trafficking vessel was targeted by the US military in the Pacific Ocean days earlier.

“Given the exhaustive search effort, lack of positive indications and declining probability of survival, we have suspended active search efforts pending further developments,” Capt. Patrick Dill was quoted as saying in a late-night Coast Guard press release.

“At this stage of the response, the likelihood of a successful outcome, based on elapsed time, environmental conditions, and available resources for a person in the water is very low,” added Dill, the chief of incident management for the Coast Guard’s Southwest District.

Noting limitations due to “distance and range constraints,” the statement said more than 65 hours of coordinated efforts had yielded no sightings of survivors or debris despite covering more than 1,090 nautical miles in the area southwest of the Mexico/Guatemala border.

“Three additional vessels in the area were asked to assist in the search, all reporting negative results,” it added.

The US Southern Command said Wednesday that it had struck two boats “operated by Designated Terrorist Organizations,” killing five people.

This came a day after it said it targeted a three-boat "convoy" allegedly involved in drug trafficking. Three people aboard one vessel were killed, while those on the other two abandoned their vessels.