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Coroner: Seacor Power cook died of hypothermia, 5 other victims drowned

seacor.jfif
Posted at 8:41 PM, Aug 20, 2021
and last updated 2021-08-20 21:41:09-04

Ernest Williams, the 69-year-old cook on the Seacor Power liftboat when it capsized several miles off the coast of Port Fourchon in April died of hypothermia, according to Nola.com. Something in the Gulf of Mexico then apparently severed an artery in his right thigh.

Lafourche Parish Coroner John King's office released autopsy results Friday for the six men whose remains were recovered after the disaster.

The remaining five crew members drowned in the capsizing, according to the coroner's report, Nola.com reports.

Gulf waters in April are usually in the 70s - the human body's core temperature is about 98 degrees - and are cold enough to bring on hypothermia if someone is in the water for an extended period of time without proper equipment.

Williams, who was an oil driller before he began cooking on ships, was the second crew member recovered after the disaster. His body was found two days later, 30 miles away from the Seacor Power.

Read more on Nola.com here.

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