16 People Missing Off Fla. Coast as U.S. Coast Guard Calls Off One Search and Launches Another

The boat belonging to the 10 missing people.Photo: U.S. Coast Guard/Twitter

A total of 16 people were missing off the coast of Florida on Tuesday as authorities called off one search and launched another.

The United States Coast Guard (USCG)announced in a press releasethat they had suspended their search on Sunday for six people who went missing approximately 23 miles east of Fort Pierce.

Another search was underway for 10 people who went missing south of Key West,according to a tweet from the USCGon Monday.

The search for six people was launched last week after officials said they, along with a good Samaritan,rescued a Jamaican man from the wateroff the coast of Fort Pierce.

The boat belonging to the group of seven who were traveling from the Bahamas.U.S. Coast Guard/Twitter

The man told the USCG that he and six other people were on their way from Bimini, in the Bahamas, when their boat capsized on Wednesday. According to the man, those other six people were missing in the water.

A photo of their boat in the water was latershared on the USCG’s Twitter, showing only the tip of the vessel peaking out from the surface of the water.

Officialssaid they searched an area of 10,694 milesfor a total of 140 hours but were unable to find the six people and called off the search on Sunday at 10:30 p.m.

“The decision to suspend a search-and-rescue case is never one we come to lightly,” Capt. JoAnn Burdian, commander of Coast Guard Sector Miami, said in a statement. “We offer our deepest sympathies to the friends and families of those involved during this difficult time.”

The boat belonging to the 10 missing people after it had been brought to land.U.S. Coast Guard/Twitter

Shortly after the Jamaican man was rescued, USCGannouncedthat 10 people were reported missing after leaving Havana, Cuba for Florida on Feb. 7 in a “six-foot makeshift vessel.”

On Sunday, the USCG confirmed they were still searching for the group butnoted that they had located their boatapproximately eight miles south of Long Key.

Like the other vessel, the boat was almost completely under the surface of the water but has since been pulled to land.

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At this time, it is unclear how the second boat with 10 people initially went missing.

source: people.com