DENVER – A crewman from Bellingham on a research ship apparently fell overboard in 43-degree water between Chile and the Antarctic, and the vessel and a Chilean plane were searching for him Wednesday.
Joshua Spillane, 31, a marine technologist, was reported missing from the Laurence M. Gould on Monday, Raytheon Polar Services said. The ship was in calm, rolling seas and a drizzle was falling at the time Spillane disappeared, Raytheon spokeswoman Valerie Carroll said.
Carroll said the ship carries emergency gear, but she did not know whether Spillane had any with him when he disappeared.
The vessel was about halfway to Punta Arenas, Chile, on a routine trip from the U.S. Antarctic Program’s Palmer Station. The trip usually takes four days.
After Spillane was reported missing, the ship returned to the site where he was last seen and began the search.
Raytheon said U.S., Chilean and company officials were conducting “routine fact-finding.”
Raytheon Polar Services, based in the Denver suburb of Centennial, provides science, operations and maintenance services to three U.S. research stations and two research vessels in the Antarctic. It is a unit of Raytheon Technical Services Co.
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