A series of distress calls were made by a family on a sinking ship in Northern California and now, officials are searching for the missing family at sea.
The Associated press said that authorities are hoping to identify the family and find the boat that was sinking off the coast of Monterey. The family is unidentified but it is known that it was a family of four which included two children under the age of eight. They were sailing a small boat west of Monterey Bay.
"There is still no information on where the boat was coming from, where it was going or who the people on board are," said Coast Guard Chief Petty Officer Mike Lutz to The Associated Press.
They made their first call on Sunday afternoon said Coast Guard Lt Heather Lampert and its been identified that it was made about 60 milies west of Monterey. They said on the call that their sailboat was taking on water and that their electronics were failing.
Now, crews have been searching for the missing family and boat all through Monday night. They family said on the call that they were making a life raft and a had a life preserver ring.
"We will just saturate the search area with as many assets as we can, so we can hopefully rescue them," Lutz said to the AP.
"The agency believes the boat's name was Charmblow. In the crackling recording, a man's voice is heard saying, 'Coast Guard, Coast Guard, we are abandoning ship. This is the (Charmblow), we are abandoning ship,'" reported the AP.
Earlier this weekend, two scuba divers died in rough waters of Monterey Bay. The area can be dangerous for visitors.
The Associated Press reports that they scuba divers were diving off the coast of Monterey County. At 2:45 p.m Emergency crews were sent to Point Lobos State Natural Reserve.
Lifeguards performed CPR on one of the divers said Daniel Berlant who is the state Department of Forestry and fire Protection spokesman. Firefighters were also on the scene and helped get the second diver who was floating to shore.
The area where the divers were is a popular area for diving
Captain Carlos Aguilera from the Carmel Highlands Fire department said to The Monterey County Herald, "At that point, we got in a boat with State Parks lifeguards and located the second victim floating in the water about 50 feet from the rocks."
Both the divers names have not been released but they were both pronounced dead after being taken to the hospital. The Monterey County Herald reported that it was a man and a woman who drowned.
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
