Sandy Forces Crew to Abandon HMS Bounty

UPDATE (10-30-12 at 8:00 a.m.): News outlets report this morning that the 15th crew member, who was found unconcious on Monday, has died overnight. The ship's captain is still missing.

UPDATE (10-29-12 at 6:30 p.m.): Searchers have recovered 15 of the ships 16-member crew. Fourteen individuals were located in life boats and safely rescued. A 15th crew member was found unresponsive later in the day. The ship's captain is the only unaccounted for crew members, according to NBC news.

The original story is as follows:

NEAR CAPE HATTERAS, NC -- The U.S. Coast Guard has initiated a helicopter rescue of 16 crew members who abandoned the iconic tall ship HMS Bounty off the North Carolina coast.

The ship apparently encountered rough seas associated with Hurricane Sandy and began taking on water, according to media reports. Its crew issued a distress call on Sunday, and its owner reported to the Coast Guard that she had lost contact with crew.

Built in 1962 for the movie "Mutiny on the Bounty," the 180-foot, three-mast  tall ship called on Charleston for four days in May.

At its last report, the ship was 90 miles off the coast of Cape Hatteras, N.C.