Greater than 100 individuals had been rescued from an overloaded crusing vessel earlier than it hit a sandbar within the Florida Keys on Monday, the U.S. Coast Guard mentioned.
A great Samaritan reported the vessel to Key West watch standers at round 5 a.m. native time, the Coast Guard’s seventh District tweeted.
Crews responded to the incident off Rodriguez Key after receiving “studies of individuals within the water” the tweet mentioned.
They encountered “6-10 ft seas, 25 mph winds to soundly take away the individuals from the vessel,” the Coast Guard mentioned.
The rescue effort seemed to be an hourslong endeavor, with officers saying the climate and tough seas offered “a problem.”
Initially, the Coast Guard mentioned 22 individuals had been rescued off the overloaded crusing vessel.
It later revised that quantity to greater than 100 individuals, saying dozens had been rescued earlier than the vessel might hit a sandbar off Whale Harbor. The nationalities of these on board the vessel was not instantly clear as of early Tuesday morning.
The rescue comes as Coast Guard Southeast mentioned it was suspending a seek for attainable survivors after a do-it-yourself vessel carrying migrants from Cuba capsized close to the coast of Florida over the weekend.
A complete of 19 individuals had been believed to be on the vessel and survivors reported that 4 individuals had instantly drowned after it capsized Saturday, the Coast Guard’s seventh District mentioned.
Coast Guard Cutter Pablo Valent’s crew rescued 9 individuals and recovered one physique, whereas on Sunday and Monday, crews recovered 5 our bodies, the Coast Guard’s seventh District mentioned in a information launch.
“Our condolences exit to the household and pals of those that are presumed misplaced at sea,” Cmdr. Richard Armstrong, deputy sector commander of Coast Guard Sector Key West, mentioned in an announcement Monday night time saying the suspension of the seek for survivors.
Armstrong mentioned that life jackets worn by a few of these on the vessel “actually saved their lives in treacherous sea situations.”
Marlene Lenthang contributed.
