Coast Guard searching for 39 people after boat capsizes near Florida

Investigators said they believe the vessel was being used for human smuggling.

January 25, 2022, 3:55 PM

The Coast Guard was combing the waters off eastern Florida Tuesday afternoon, looking for 39 people on a boat that capsized.

The vessel may have been part of a "human smuggling venture," the Coast Guard said.

The Coast Guard said it had received a report from a good Samaritan who rescued a man clinging to the vessel, roughly 45 miles east of Fort Pierce Inlet, around 8 a.m.

The survivor said he left Bimini, Bahamas, on Saturday night, and that their boat encountered turbulent weather. No one was wearing a life jacket, according to the survivor.

Coast Guard boats and aircraft were searching throughout the morning, and as of 4 p.m. Tuesday, no other survivors had been discovered.