One Dead, One Missing After Tanker Strikes Passenger Boat in Texas

One person has died and another is missing after a commercial tanker struck a recreation vessel near Port Aransas, Texas.

The U.S. Coast Guard said it received a call from a good Samaritan via channel 16 at 5:28 a.m. reporting the collision between. The recreational vessel, reported to be a commercial pleasure boat, became partially submerged, and the four people on board went into the water.

After receiving the call, the Coast Guard issued an urgent marine information broadcast and directed the launch of an MH-65 Dolphin helicopter crew from Coast Guard Air Station Corpus Christi and a 29-foot Response Boat-Small from Coast Guard Station Port Aransas to begin searching.

A good Samaritan and a pilot boat recovered two survivors and one casualty in the Corpus Christi Ship Channel. The survivors were transferred to emergency medical assistance.

On Sunday morning, the Coast Guard suspended its search for the remaining missing boater after rescue crews from the Coast Guard and local partners searched by air and sea for approximately 44 combined hours and covered more than 127 square miles.

Other agencies involved in the search efforts included Texas Parks & Wildlife Department, Aransas Pass Police Department, Texas Department of Public Safety and Port of Corpus Christi Police Department. Local boaters also assisted. 

The cause of the incident is under investigation, the Coast Guard said.