Coast Guard: Cargo sailboat en route to Europe sinks off Bahamas. Two presumed dead

A sailboat hauling cargo from Colombia destined for Europe sank in heavy weather off the Bahamas this week, and the Coast Guard said Thursday that it has ended its search for two missing crew members.

The 90-foot schooner De Gallant encountered a passing storm about 20 miles north of Great Inagua, the southernmost island in the Bahamas, Tuesday morning, and the eight-member crew abandoned ship when the vessel began taking on water and going under, according to a Coast Guard statement.

After receiving the distress call, the Coast Guard was unable to make contact with the crew. The maritime service received signals from personal locator beacons and launched a MH-60 Jayhawk to the area to search for survivors.

Around 8 a.m. Tuesday, the chopper crew spotted two life rafts floating amid a field of debris, the Coast Guard said. On the rafts were six French nationals. They were hoisted aboard the helicopter and flown to Coast Guard Air Station Miami in Opa-Locka and are in good health, the agency said.

Two women from the De Gallant remained missing, however.

The Coast Guard and Royal Bahamas Defense Force conducted a 3,700-square-mile search for the women using planes, helicopters and ships over the ensuing two days, but did not locate them, the agency said Thursday.

“It is with heavy hearts we offer our sincere condolences to the families and crew that lost these two mariners,” Cmdr. Lindsey Seniuk, Coast Guard Seventh District command center search and rescue mission coordinator, said in a statement.

“When we send our rescue crews out, it is with great hope we can bring people home safely, which is why suspending this case is one of the hardest decisions our personnel make,” Seniuk said. “We are grateful we were able to bring home the six survivors and thankful for the assistance of our partners in the Royal Bahamas Defense Force.”

The De Gallant sailed under the flag of Vanuatu, an island nation in South Pacific, but is owned by the Blue Schooner Company, a French cargo firm.

According to a statement on the company’s website, the De Gallant was shipping coffee, cocoa and sugar cane from Santa Marta, Colombia, to various locations in Europe. It set sail Saturday, May 11, the company said.