Coast Guard suspends search for Vinson worker

[unhappycamper]

Coast Guard suspends search for Vinson worker
The Associated Press
Posted : Wednesday Feb 13, 2008 22:11:44 EST

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. — The Coast Guard suspended efforts to find the body of a Northrop Grumman shipyard worker who fell overboard from an aircraft carrier into the James River, but shipyard authorities continued their search.

The 19-year-old sheet metal worker from Newport News fell from the aircraft carrier Carl Vinson, which is being overhauled at the shipyard, at about 8:10 a.m, the shipyard said in a statement. The worker’s name was not released.

Two sailors aboard the George H. W. Bush, a carrier under construction next to the Carl Vinson, immediately jumped into the river but were unable to find the worker, the shipyard said.

Emergency response personnel from the shipyard, the city of Newport News and the Coast Guard spent the day searching for the employee. The Coast Guard said it suspended its search in the evening, but shipyard spokeswoman Jennifer Dellapenta said the company’s search continued for the worker, who was presumed dead.

The shipyard said in a statement that it did not know the cause of the fall, which it called it accidental.


Rest of article at: http://www.navytimes.com/news/2008/02/ap_cgoverboard_080213/