U.S. Coast Guard crews are searching for nine missing people from a watercraft that capsized Monday night in the Florida Straits as Tropical Storm Elsa hit the waters.
According to a USGS press release, the boat departed from Cuba carrying 22 people and capsized around 8 p.m. Monday. At around 1:30 p.m. Tuesday, USGS Southeast crews were alerted to two survivors from the boat about 23 to 26 miles southeast of Key West, said Twitter posts.
The press release said a vessel called the Western Carmen’s crew called the USGS about the survivors.
At the time the boat capsized, Tropical Storm Elsa would have been crossing Cuba east of Havana, impacting ocean waters in the area, according to CNN.
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Altogether two coast guard cutter vessels from Key West – Cutter Thetis and Cutter William Trump – as well as two helicopters and airplane from stations in Miami and Clearwater responded to the scene. A “good Samaritan” helped the USGS pull 10 people from the water initially, followed by three more around 7:28 p.m.
Of those rescued, nine were men and four were women. They told the USGS that nine people who were traveling with them remain missing, including seven men and two women, said CNN.
As of Wednesday evening, USGS crews were still searching for the remaining nine passengers.
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