Coast Guard searching for possible sinking vessel off Cape Canaveral coast

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – The Coast Guard is searching for a possible vessel taking on water and sinking approximately 30 miles east of Cape Canaveral Monday.

Coast Guard Sector Jacksonville, Fla., watchstanders received a distress call via VHF radio at about 4:30 p.m. Sunday reporting that a vessel, a contender boat, was taking on water and quickly sinking. All communication was lost with the people aboard before a location was passed to the Coast Guard.

Initially, a Coast Guard HH-60 rescue helicopter crew from Air Station Clearwater, Fla., and a 45-foot response boat medium rescue crew from Coast Guard Station Port Canaveral deployed to search for the sinking vessel.

Overnight, an HU-25 Falcon Jet crew from Air Station Miami, a small-boat rescue crew from Station Fort Pierce, Fla., and an aircraft rescue crew from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission participated in the search for the possible distressed mariners.

A C-130 long range surveillance aircraft crew from Air Station Elizabeth City, N.C., is expected to be on scene to search Monday.