4 drowned, 5 missing from capsized boat off Florida Keys during 'failed migration attempt,' Coast Guard says
Coast Guard crews rescue a migrant who survived after their vessel capsized about 50 miles off the Florida Keys. (Courtesy: US Coast Guard
KEY WEST, Fla. - At least four people are believed to have drowned and rescuers were searching for another five people off the Florida Keys after a homemade vessel capsized during a failed migration attempt, authorities said Sunday.
The U.S. Coast Guard said nine people were rescued and the body of one person was recovered Saturday after the boat capsized about 50 miles from Little Torch Key, Florida.
The agency said four people drowned "immediately" upon the vessel's capsizing.
RELATED: Who are the migrants coming to Florida?
Some of those rescued were wearing life jackets which likely saved their lives in the waves that hit as high as 8 feet amid 30 mph winds, the Coast Guard said in a tweet.
Pictures released by the Coast Guard showed people wearing life vests as they were pulled from the water.
Coast Guard crews rescue migrants who survived after their vessel capsized about 50 miles off the Florida Keys. (Courtesy: US Coast Guard)
At least 19 people were aboard the boat at the time it capsized, officials said.
After 5 p.m. Sunday, Coast Guard crews recovered two people from the water who were unresponsive and unconscious.
"It is unclear if these people are part of the 4 reported to have drowned or of the 5 people unaccounted for," officials wrote in an update.
The Coast Guard did not immediately say from where the people on the boat were migrating, but did tag the US Embassy in Cuba's Twitter account in its tweets.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.