2 Bodies Recovered in Coast Guard Search After Explosion in Texas Port

The bodies of two missing crew members of a dredging boat were found Saturday following an explosion a day earlier in the Port of Corpus Christi in Texas, according to the U.S. Coast Guard.

Two other crew members of the dredging vessel Waymon L Boyd remain missing, the Coast Guard said in a news release.

A Coast Guard helicopter and boats were searching for the missing crew members.

The explosion happened at about 8 a.m. Friday when the dredging vessel struck a submerged pipeline, Coast Guard Lt. Marina Lawrence said. The Port of Corpus Christi has said it was a natural gas pipeline.

“Our thoughts and prayers go out to the impacted crewmen and their families,” Sean Strawbridge, CEO of Port of Corpus Christi, said in a statement.

“A full investigation is underway; however, search and rescue efforts are our first priority. It will not be clear for some time the cause of this accident, and any definitive statements to the contrary would be premature,” Strawbridge said.

The Waymon L Boyd is owned by Houston-based marine construction contractor Orion Marine Group. 

“We greatly appreciate the efforts of the U.S. Coast Guard and other responders in their efforts to recover our missing crewmen,” Orion CEO Mark Stauffer said in the statement.

The fire onboard the vessel was extinguished at approximately 10 p.m. Friday after the vessel broke apart and sunk, the Coast Guard said.