Two former Navy SEALs – working as security guards aboard the famed Maersk Alabama container ship – were found dead Tuesday while the vessel was docked near Madagascar.
The two Americans were identified as Jeffrey Reynolds and Mark Kennedy. The men, both 44, were found dead Tuesday in a cabin.
The Maersk Alabama was best known for a pirate attack in 2009, off the coast of Somalia. The hijacking and rescue was featured in the Tom Hanks movie “Captain Phillips.”
The incident highlighted dangers faced by merchant marines.
The Maersk Alabama had been docked in Victoria, Seychelles, an archipelago in the Indian Ocean just northeast of Madagascar.
“A postmortem will be carried out this week in order to establish the cause of their sudden deaths while the police investigates the possible circumstances which led to these incidents,” according to a local police statement reported by CNN.
Coast Guard Senior Chief Petty Officer Daniel Tremper said his investigators will lead probe into the death of these two Americans.
“We are monitoring the report involving the two citizens and we offer our condolences to the two families, Tremper said.
“An investigator from Coast Guard Activities Europe is engaged in a Coast Guard investigation but due to the nature of the investigation that will be about all that we can provide right now.”