The search for missing cargo ship El Faro, which sank near the Bahamas with 33 people on board, has been called off by the Coast Guard.
The 735ft cargo vessel and its crew have been missing since issuing a distress call on October 1.
Search planes have found debris including life jackets, containers and oil in the water, but only one body has been recovered.
It is not clear why the captain decided to lead the ship into waters near Hurricane Joaquin.
“We were very saddened to learn that no survivors have been found,” said Bella Dinh-Zarr, vice chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).
The search officially ended on October 7 at sunset.
“They did all they could in this search effort… our crews and aircrafts flew repeatedly into that storm,” Coast Guard Captain Mark Fedor said on the same day.
An empty, heavily damaged life boat was also found.
The coast guard said it searched 70,000 sq nautical miles attempting to find the crew of 28 Americans and five Poles.
The El Faro ship, which was travelling from Florida to Puerto Rico, was taking on water before it sank according to the distress call.
Its owners, Tote Maritime, say the ship lost power after its engines broke down.
Tote Maritime, said two vessels it dispatched to the scene had found a container “which appears to be from the El Faro”.
In a statement it said the crew were “equipped to handle situations such as changing weather.”
Hurricane Joaquin brought heavy rains to the Bahamas, damaging a number of houses.
South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley says rainfalls in parts of the state have been higher than at any time “in 1,000 years”, with at least six reported deaths as a result of the floods.
More than 13 inches has fallen in three days in the historic city of Charleston.
Schools will shut on October 5 and several inter-state highways have been closed.
The torrential rains have been made worse by a weather system connected to Hurricane Joaquin in the Caribbean.
Hurricane Joaquin is not expected to hit the eastern US, but the moisture associated with it is contributing to heavy rainfall.
“We haven’t seen this level of rain in the low country in 1,000 years. That’s how big this is,” Governor Nikki Haley said on October 4.
Photo NBC News
Nikki Haley urged residents to stay indoors.
“The water is not safe and a lot of areas across the state where you see this deep water, it’s got bacteria in it. So, stay inside and don’t get in there,” she said.
President Barack Obama has declared a state of emergency in South Carolina. The move means state and local authorities can receive federal help to deal with the flooding.
“We have every ambulance in the county out responding to calls. People are being moved from their homes in boats,” Georgetown County spokeswoman Jackie Broach told Reuters.
About 100 people were rescued from their cars on flooded roads on October 3.
In Charleston, many streets have been closed and sandbags have been piled up to keep floodwaters out.
A state of emergency has been declared in South Carolina by President Barack Obama, as heavy rainfall is set to lead to more flooding over the weekend in many parts of the east coast.
It has been raining for much of the week, but a weather system connected to Hurricane Joaquin in the Caribbean is expected to make the situation worse.
It is regaining strength and has been reclassified as a Category 4 Storm.
Hurricane Joaquin, currently off the Bahamas, has winds of up to 155mph.
The storm is not expected to hit the eastern US, but the moisture associated with it is contributing to heavy rainfall, particularly in South Carolina.
The National Weather Service says parts of the state could see over 15 inches of rain by Sunday evening, October 4.
In the historic city centre of Charleston, many streets have been closed and sandbags have been piled up to keep floodwaters out.
“Where we normally are dealing with flooding for a few hours, we’re dealing with it in days here,” Charleston Police Chief Greg Mullen told the Associated Press.
The emergency declared by President Barack Obama means state and local authorities can receive federal help to deal with the flooding.
On October 1, El Faro cargo ship went missing after sailing through Hurricane Joaquin off the Bahamas.
Hurricane Joaquin has battered parts of the Bahamas with heavy rains and winds after it was reclassified up to the second strongest type of storm.
Sustained winds of up to 130mph were reported in parts of the eastern Bahamas, the US National Hurricane Center said.
The NHC says Hurricane Joaquin could affect the US East Coast by October 4, and said it was now an “extremely dangerous” storm.
Emergency teams said there were no reports of casualties in the Bahamas.
Forecasters in the US and the Bahamas are warning that central islands, many of which are low-lying, could see a storm surge of up to 12ft.
“We do not know the impact of 130mph on those areas,” Bahamas PM Perry Christie said.
Photo AccuWeather
“We know it’s a horrific kind of experience.”
Images on social media showed water reaching close to the roofs of some homes. The Tribune 242 website said dozens of people were trapped in their homes in the southern Bahamas.
After being classified only as a storm on September 30, Joaquin had become a Category Four hurricane – on a scale of five – by October 1.
The NHC said the storm could strengthen again as it nears the central Bahamas, but it is likely to lose strength as it moves north.
States along the eastern US coast – many of whom have suffered heavy rains in recent days – have warned residents to take precautions.
But the NHC, while warning the path of the hurricane could change, said it was “becoming optimistic that the Carolinas and the mid-Atlantic states will avoid the direct effects from Joaquin”.
Meanwhile, the governors of New Jersey, Virginia, Maryland and North and South Carolina declared states of emergency. One person was killed by flash floods in Spartanburg, South Carolina and schools in Charleston will be closed on October 2, local media reported.
Cuba has also issued warnings for four eastern provinces.
A White House spokesman said the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) was following the progress of Hurricane Joaquin and preparing in case it made landfall in the US.
Hurricane Joaquin has strengthened into a Category 3 storm as it nears the Bahamas, the National Hurricane Center (NHC) says.
The eye of the storm is expected to pass over eastern islands of the Bahamas overnight.
A hurricane warning is in effect for much of Bahamas that could see winds of up to 115mph.
The NHC says hurricane Joaquin, the third of the Atlantic season, could affect the US East Coast by October 4.
Photo ABC News
It warned that Joaquin “could become a major hurricane” by October 2. It picked up considerable strength on September 29, after being upgraded from a storm to a category 3 hurricane, on a scale of five, in only a few hours.
Geoffrey Greene, a senior forecaster with the Bahamas Meteorology Department, said he was “very concerned” about some of the smaller islands in Joaquin’s path, such as San Salvador, Rum Cay and Cat Island, which all have small populations.
Officials in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut, states badly affected by Superstorm Sandy in 2012, warned residents should begin making preparations.
Virginia’s Governor, Terry McAuliffe, has declared a state of emergency in response to heavy flooding earlier in the week, and because of what he called “a serious threat to life and property” from Joaquin.
A White House spokesman said the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) was following the progress of Joaquin and preparing in case it made landfall in the US.
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