9 People Missing, 13 Rescued Off Coast of Florida After Boat Capsizes amid Tropical Storm Elsa

Photo: USCG Southeast / twitter

The crew of a motor vessel alerted Sector Key West watchstanders around 1:30 p.m. on Tuesday to report that they’d found four people in the water, about 26 miles southeast of Key West, the U.S. Coast Guard said in apress release.

With help from a Good Samaritan, the Coast Guard’s Cutter Thetis rescued 13 people — nine men and four women — from the water.

The survivors told the Thetis crew members that they’d left from Cuba, and their vessel capsized around 8 p.m. on Monday with 22 people on board, according to the release.

“The search for more survivors continue[s] as evaluate the health and provide medical attention for those rescued,” the Coast Guard said onTwitterTuesday night.

Nine people — seven men and two women — were still missing as of Tuesday night, and search efforts continued overnight.

At the time of the rescue, Elsa was a tropical storm with sustained winds of 70 mph about 95 miles northwest of Key West, according to theSouth Florida Sun Sentinel. By 8 p.m., it had strengthened into a Category 1 hurricane.

NWS said Elsa’s maximum sustained winds are near 65 mph with higher gusts, and that its strength likely will not change until it makes landfall, at which point it’ll weaken as it moves inland.

source: people.com