La Quinta Channel Reopened

The La Quinta Channel has been reopened to vessel traffic Thursday evening, after a vessel sank near Ingleside, Texas on Tuesday, the U.S. Coast Guard said.

The closure began Tuesday when the vessel Cristi sank with two crew memmbers aboard approximately 100 yards north of Ingleside Point. Due to the location of the sunken vessel, the La Quinta Channel was closed to vessel traffic.

One crew member was rescued by a good Samaritan vessel, and the other is still missing. Coast Guard aircraft and vessel assets scoured more than 143 square miles in search for the missing crew member, but the search was called off on Wednesday evening after approximately 31 hours.

The vessel was successfully raised and removed from the channel, the Coast Guard said. Containment boom was used to contain pollution and active recovery of oil continued throughout the salvage operation.

Coast Guard Sector/Air Station Corpus Christi personnel are continuing to monitor the situation.

The cause of the vessel sinking is currently under investigation.