The search is on for a Trinidad and Tobago Coast Guard (TTCG) officer who went missing during a search and rescue operation in the early hours of Friday morning.

According to Coast Guard sources, Able Seaman (AB) K. Simon was part of an operation, where acting on information received, a Coast Guard vessel intercepted a vessel, allegedly a semi-submersible, manned by nationals of Colombia and transporting a large shipment of drugs.

AB Simon was said to be aboard the intercepted vessel, helping its crew members go onboard the TTCG vessel when the plug was pulled, leading to the vessel beginning to be filled with water, with its front tipping upwards.