The Coast Guard today announced it will suspend tomorrow the active search for the nine boys and men who are missing following the collision of the USS Greeneville and the Ehime Maru training vessel.
After a wide-ranging, five-day search, Coast Guard and Navy search teams have been unable to find any of the nine, who included four students, two instructors and three crewmembers.
People missing from the Japanese ship. Twenty-six others were rescued after the Greeneville, a Los Angeles-class attack submarine struck and sunk their boat on Friday.
"This was the most thorough search effort we have ever conducted," said Coast Guard Rear Adm. Joseph McClelland, commander of the 14th Coast Guard District.
The search covered about 14,670 square miles with Navy and Coast Guard 12 ships and 11 aircraft, McClelland said. The Japanese vessel Nippon Maru also joined the search.
The Navy attempted to launch a Scorpio II submersible today for an underwater search of the Ehime Maru, but could not do so given the adverse weather conditions, including 8- to 12-foot waves, said Cmdr. Bruce Cole.
The underwater search operation will resume when the conditions at the site improve, Cole said.
