Four crew members are unaccounted for after a large cargo ship overturned and caught fire off the coast of Georgia early on Sunday morning, according to the US Coast Guard.
In a press release, the USCG said: "The GOLDEN RAY's crew size is 23 people; there was one pilot aboard. 20 of the 24 people have been rescued".
The 656-foot vessel was pictured leaning on one side at around 2am in St. Simons Sound, Captain John Reed, commander of the Coast Guard Sector Charleston, explained during a news conference.
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CNN reported how crews from the Coast Guard and other agencies responded and rescued 20 of the 24 crew members before a fire on board forced them to stop.
Capt. Reed said: "As smoke and flames began to appear our crews, along with the Glynn County heavy rescue team, assessed that the situation was too risky to further go inside the vessel to attempt to locate the four individuals who remain missing at this time."
Reed suggested the four crew members could still be on the ship as Fox News reported that he said: "Once they have stabilized the vessel, [they] will try to go in to get the four who remain on board."
Fox News spoke to Coast Guard Lt. Lloyd Heflin who said on Sunday afternoon: "We're still conducting rescue operations. They continue to do what they can. It is a complex situation."
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The vehicle carrier was leaving Brunswick, Georgia, when it drastically leaned to one side. The Coast Guard was alerted to the incident via a 911 call at around 2am.
A number of local agencies have been assisting the Coast Guard in its search for the missing crew members, including the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, Moran Towing, SeaTow, Brunswick Bar Pilots Association, and the Glynn County Fire Department.
Griffith V. Lynch, executive director of the Georgia Ports Authority, told NBC: "We greatly appreciate the immediate response of the US Coast Guard, who are leading the search and rescue."
