4 Fishermen Missing: Coast Guard Conducts Frantic Search Off Texas Gulf Coast
4 fishermen are missing off the Texas Gulf Coast on Saturday after their boat sank, sparking a mass search by the U.S. Coast Guard, who launched boats, helicopters and airplanes in an attempt to find them.
It has been reported that a distress signal was received by the Coast Guard from a 50-foot vessel at about 3.30 a.m. on Friday, according to Petty Officer Richard Brahm, the Associated Press has reported.
It was reported that the boat began sinking about 115 miles southeast of Galveston, which is close to the Texas-Louisiana border.
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It is though the boat could have got in trouble due to the poor weather conditions at the time, Brahm reported. He explained that there were strong sustained winds of 33 mph in the area at the time, and gusts of about 40 mph. Sea swells were also between 10 and 15 feet, likely making things extremely difficult for the relatively small boat.
One of the boat crew was found at about 8.30 a.m. local time. John Robinson was found on a life raft, and reported that he had no idea what had happened to the other four fishermen on board with him.
Brahm said, "We're going to keep searching until someone tells us to stop."
He insisted that the Coast Guard would definitely continue to search throughout Saturday night, although the longer that goes by without the men being found the less likely it is they will be found alive.
