Captain feared dead after shrimp boat capsizes near Brownsville, Texas

One person is feared to have died after a commercial fishing vessel capsized near the Port of Brownsville in Texas on Saturday, July 12.

The unnamed shrimp trawler had two people on board when the incident occurred near the port's LNG terminal at around 07:00 local time on Saturday.

The US Coast Guard said one crewmember has been rescued without injury while the vessel's captain has not yet been found.

The coast guard and rescue divers from the Brownsville Fire Department conducted multiple searches in the waters near the port, even going down to depths of as much as 40 feet (12 metres), in an attempt to locate any trace of the missing captain.

The coast guard suspended the search operation after 14 hours and after covering an area of approximately 55 square miles (140 square kilometres). The ship channel has meanwhile been closed to allow the salvage of the capsized vessel to be executed safely.

The incident occurred just days prior to the opening of this year's shrimp trawling season in the Gulf of Mexico.