Commercial fishing vessel was carrying 7 people when it sank off Massachusetts

2 weeks ago 5

By MICHAEL CASEY, RODRIQUE NGOWI and PATRICK WHITTLE, Associated Press

GLOUCESTER, Mass. (AP) — A commercial fishing vessel that was presumed to have sunk off the coast of Massachusetts on Friday was carrying a crew of seven people, and the U.S. Coast Guard was expected to maintain a search for survivors around the clock amid howling winds and frigid temperatures.

The Coast Guard launched a search and rescue mission early Friday after receiving an alert from the 72-foot Lily Jean about 25 miles off Gloucester. They located a debris field near where the alert was sent along with a body in the water.

“We will continue to search throughout the night with the cutter, hoping to find additional folks as we continue,” Coast Guard Commander Timothy Jones, who is coordinating the search and rescue, said. He added that the crew was “coming back in full of fish” and may have had problems with their fishing gear that required them to return for repairs.

Jones said they are “always hoping to find” survivors from the vessel. But another Coast Guard official, Sector Boston Commander Jamie Frederick, acknowledged the search poses “challenging” problems considering the vessel sank and the search is on for people in the water.

“That is the equivalent of searching for a coconut in the ocean,” Frederick said.