The German merchant ship Phoebus saw lights in the water and altered course toward Akron's wreckage. Its crew recovered four men, one of whom later died, and reported seeing other people who could not be reached. Phoebus searched for about five hours before worsening weather forced it to leave the area. Navy and Coast Guard vessels, aircraft, fishing boats, and merchant ships then joined the wider search. The scale of the response could not overcome the lack of flotation equipment and the speed of the breakup.
Notable Point · 3:03:01-3:05:29
How Phoebus found Akron's survivors
Phoebus recovered four men and searched for hours before a broad maritime and aerial response failed to find more survivors.