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The US coat guard said 16 people were missing from two separate boats off the coast of Florida. Officials said 10 people were missing near Key West while six more were missing off Fort Pierce.
The agency said Monday the search for boaters off Fort Pierce was suspended after searching an area over 10,000 miles for a total of 140 hours.
“The decision to put a search and rescue case on hold is never a decision we take lightly,” said Captain JoAnn Burdian, Area Commander Miami Coast Guard. “We offer our deepest condolences to the friends and families of those involved in this difficult time.”
The Coast Guard tweeted on Sunday evening that it had located the boat used by the 10 missing people about 8 miles south of Long Key. The guard posted two images of the ship, saying “the search continues”.
The first search began on Friday morning when a boater rescued a Jamaican national who said six other people were with him when their 18-foot vessel overturned two days earlier about 23 miles off Fort Pierce.
They were on their way from Bimini, Bahamas, according to the coast guard, but the agency did not mention the direction of their boat.
The Coast Guard said it sent three cutters and a plane to search the area, but they couldn’t find the missing boaters.
The rescued man was taken to shore for medical treatment.
Last week the Coast Guard rescued three Cuban nationals who found themselves stranded for over a month on a desert island in the Bahamas.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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