Nov. 23 (UPI) -- The U.S. Coast Guard said a search was underway Monday for four fishermen after their boat sank off the coast of Massachusetts.
The Coast Guard said in a release it received an emergency notification at 1 a.m. from the 82-foot Emmy Rose fishing vessel indicating it was about 20 miles off of Provincetown, and dispatched a Jayhawk helicopter crew and a Coast Guard cutter to its last known location, only to find debris and an empty life raft floating on the water.
"We saw the raft that was deployed and upright, so that was encouraging," said Coast Guard Commander Ian Hurst, CBS Boston reported. "We were hoping that we would find some people inside that raft."
The owner of the Portland, Maine-registered boat told the Coast Guard that there were reportedly four people on board and that no one had answered its satellite phone.
The Coast Guard Air Station Cape Cod Jayhawk helicopter, Ocean Sentry fixed-wing aircraft, a 47-foot motor life boat and two U.S. Coast Guard Cutters Key Largo and Vigorous have been dispatched in the rescue effort, the release said.
"Vigorous will remain on scene throughout the night," U.S. Coast Guard First District Northeast said on Twitter.
Sen. Angus King wrote on Twitter that he was "praying for the safe return of these four fishermen and the safety of the [U.S. Coast Guard] responders."
The Coast Guard said weather on the scene was 30-knot winds with up to eight-foot seas.
