Coast Guard Searches for Missing After Fishing Vessel Sinks Off Massachusetts

The U.S. Coast Guard launched an extensive search Friday for survivors of a commercial fishing vessel that sank about 25 miles off the coast of Cape Ann, Massachusetts, with seven people aboard, including a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration observer. Rescue teams recovered one body from the water and located debris and an unoccupied life raft near the site, but six others remained missing as efforts continued into the evening.

The incident began around 6:50 a.m. when Coast Guard watchstanders received an emergency position-indicating radio beacon alert registered to the 72-foot vessel Lily Jean. Officials attempted to contact the boat but received no response, prompting the issuance of an urgent marine information broadcast to alert nearby vessels. In response, the Coast Guard deployed an MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew from Air Station Cape Cod, a small boat crew from Station Gloucester, and diverted the cutter Thunder Bay to the area.

Search teams quickly identified a debris field at the beacon's activation location. They pulled an unresponsive body from the water and spotted the empty life raft associated with the Lily Jean, but no additional survivors were found...