WGNO

Victim’s family responds to Seacor Power hearings

ST. LANDRY PARISH, La. (KLFY) — For two weeks the world learned the unsettling truths of why the Seacor Power capsized on April 13.

As upsetting as some of the witnesses’ testimonies were, the sister of one deceased crew member says she’s glad she knows more about the loss of her loved one.

“So many more of these men could have possibly come home to their families. Not all of us would have to be sitting going through wondering what happened. Where are our family members? Why are they not home with us?”, said Misty Pitre who is without her brother, Quinon.

The Lawtell native’s body was found aboard the Seacor Power one week after it capsized.

“He was just a great guy. Always there to help everybody. Just loved spending time with his girls and my daughter and making them as country as he could because that’s how he was,” Pitre said trailing into laughter with the memories.

Her smile was not present while listening to the USCG hearings because she believes more could have been done to save Quinon’s and 12 others’ lives.

Pitre told KLFY, “It’s just kind of hard to wrap your head around it all, knowing so many things that could have been done differently that would have would have had a completely different outcome to all of this than what did happen.”

Pitre said she does not want to see another deadly disaster due to weather alerts not being sent, a vessel’s location not being known, or resources and help, like the Bristow helicopter, being turned away.

“Just to hear that Coast Guard turned them away when they were actively trying to rescue these guys out there, it hurt. It hurt bad,” Pitre said.

She gave comments on a long list of failures asking, “How do you not know that your boat is not a port like you said it was?” and “How are you not watching these weather alerts for the boats that are out there?”

She’s hoping for new regulations, faster response times, and more even more answers the testimonies did not cover like why it’s taken so long to get the liftboat out of the Gulf of Mexico.

“All I want is just the answers of what actually happened. Good. Bad. Ugly. Just tell us. Just let us know,” Pitre concluded.