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image captionThe commercial vessel was reportedly the Seacor Power
Rescuers are searching for the missing crew members of a large commercial vessel after it capsized off the US state of Louisiana.
There were reportedly 18 people on board, and on Wednesday the US Coast Guard said it had so far rescued six.
The 129ft (39m) lift boat capsized about eight miles (12km) from Port Fourchon on Tuesday afternoon.
A spokesman for marine transportation company Seacor Marine later identified the vessel as belonging to the firm.
A lift boat is a self-propelled vessel with an open deck, often using legs and jacks, and is deployed to support drilling or exploration.
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Six people had been rescued and safely transported to shore.
By Tim Elfrink, Paulina Firozi and Jason SamenowWashington Post
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A Coast Guard Station Grand Isle response boat heads toward a capsized 175-foot commercial lift boat Tuesday, April 13, searching for people in the water 8 miles south of Grand Isle, Louisiana. U.S. Coast Guard Coast Guard Cutter Glenn Harris via AP
As a ferocious storm whipped up towering waves off Louisiana on Tuesday, a commercial vessel carrying 19 people capsized in the Gulf of Mexico, sparking a mass rescue operation by the U.S. Coast Guard and a fleet of good Samaritans that continued into the next day.