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HOUSTON » The U.S. Coast Guard has joined the crew of a Chinese freighter in the search for a crew member who fell into the Gulf of Mexico while painting the bulk freighter’s hull.
A Coast Guard statement says the 29-year-old man fell overboard Saturday morning while painting the 738-foot, Chinese flagged CF Crystal about 10 miles off Sabine Pass, Texas.
The statement says the ship’s crew tried to throw a life ring to the man but couldn’t reach him before they saw him sink beneath the waves.
A nearby Liberian-flagged tanker, the 600-foot Corrido, lowered a life boat to join the search and found the missing man’s hard hat. The man remains missing, though.
