At two o'clock in the night until Monday, local time, the Coast Guard received the alarm that the 200 meter long freighter was lying on the side - not far from land.

At five o'clock, 20 people from the crew could be rescued, but four people remained trapped in the ship. Three of these were discovered in the area around the ship's propeller when a knock could be heard on the ship's hull. Shortly thereafter, extensive rescue work was started, which included drilling a hole in the hull to bring food and air to the crew, CNN reports.

"Best day in the career"

After a few hours, three of the four could be rescued. The fourth person had been trapped behind a glass panel in a control room but could eventually be rescued at midnight, Swedish time. Unlike the other three, he had neither access to food nor water for over 30 hours.

- It is fantastic. It is the best day of my career, says John Reed at the Coast Guard after the rescue effort.

All four are now being treated in hospitals, according to CNN, which refers to the data for the Coast Guard.

The freighter was newly built

It is still unclear why the ship that departed from the port of Brunswick to Baltimore overturned. The ship, which was relatively new, was built in 2017 and was registered in the Marshall Islands.

Once the ship has stabilized, the emergency services will look at ways to remove the ship, which is currently leaking oil, without damaging the environment. Therefore, people are advised not to swim at certain beaches, including outside St. Simons and Jekyll Island. At a later date, water quality sampling will be conducted, according to CNN.