Boat flips off Florida coast; 3 dead, 2 missing

Associated Press

MIAMI (AP) — A 24-foot (7.3-meter) motorboat believed to be carrying 12 migrants has capsized off the southeastern coast of Florida, leaving three dead and two missing. Seven people survived.

Coast Guard spokeswoman Sabrina Laberdesque says the boat flipped Thursday about 75 miles (120 kilometers) northeast of West Palm Beach. She could not immediately say where the passengers were from. Officials were investigating whether human smugglers might have been involved.

Laberdesque said the Royal Netherlands Navy first came upon the boat around noon, and rescued the seven survivors from atop the upside-down hull. Naval officials took them aboard their vessel and contacted the Coast Guard, which sent a cutter and helicopter to search for the missing passengers.