JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The three men who jumped from a cargo ship on the St. Johns River on Wednesday have been identified, according to an incident report from Jacksonville Sheriff's Office.
The men are Sami Ullah, 34, Khurshid Khan, 27, and Amir Shah, 31. The ship they jumped from, the Simba, is a Ukraine cargo hauler which left Blount Island approximately 8 a.m. on Wednesday bound for North Korea, the report said.
Customs and Border Patrol confirmed the men are Pakistani.
CBP will assume control of the investigation. The Coast Guard is returning the cargo ship to port at Blount Island and doing a roster check of everyone on board to confirm if anyone else is outstanding, the report continued.
The cargo ship was heading away from the St. Johns River and out into the ocean.
According to CBP, the reason for jumping off the ship is unknown. The two rescued men will be interviewed once they are released from the hospital.
The incident happened in the area of the Fort George Island Marina and Naval Station Mayport.
Witness Mike Villa said he was the harbor pilot who escorted the ship the men jumped from. He said the men are not citizens of the United States and are not allowed to leave the ship. Villa said he was piloting the ship out to sea when he noticed the men floating in the river. He then alerted the Coast Guard, according to the report.
A witness named Charlie Marks said he was alerted to a man floating in the river. He was being pulled by the current and shouting for help.
Marks ran to the dock and noticed another man in the river with a life vest on behind another man in an orange jumpsuit. Marks said Ullah was pulled from the river by Noah Matteson onto the dock, the report said.
Marks yelled at the other man to swim to him, but he continued to swim away toward the barges docked next door at 9832 Heckscher Dr., the report continued.
Marks said the man who floated away climbed onto a barge, sat for a few minutes then crossed two other barges to a dock where he sat down again next to a wooden fence dividing the marina and the other shipyard. Then he walked into the shipyard out of sight, the report said.
The Joint Terrorism Task Force is checking the three subjects for any indications of unknown intentions or criminal origins. Search results were negative at the time of the incident, but efforts would continue.
The search for the third man continues. First Coast News will keep you updated with any developments.