U.S. Coast Guard wraps up first phase of El Faro disaster probe
Source: Reuters
World | Fri Feb 26, 2016 3:24pm EST
U.S. Coast Guard wraps up first phase of El Faro disaster probe
ORLANDO, FLA. | BY BARBARA LISTON
The U.S. investigation into the deadly sinking of the El Faro cargo ship during a hurricane last fall shifted direction on Friday, as the Coast Guard wrapped up its initial public hearings on the accident that killed all 33 people onboard.
The agency will now wait to see if key evidence can be recovered from the shipwreck. In April, searchers will make a second attempt at finding a voyage data recorder that could provide detail on the ship's sinking off the Bahamas.
The recorder, similar to an airplane's black box, may hold data on the last 12 hours of a voyage that saw the worst cargo shipping disaster involving a U.S.-flagged vessel in more than three decades.
The Coast Guard's Marine Board of Investigation, convened only for the most serious accidents, for the past two weeks has heard testimony on events leading up to the disaster on Oct. 1.
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