20 passengers feared dead as boat heading to Florida from the Bahamas goes missing

• The US Coast Guard suspended search for the vessel on Friday night
• Boat with about 20 people on board was meant to arrive in Lake Worth, Florida 
• Rescuers searched 17,000 square miles when it was three days behind schedule
• Officials have not released information about who was on the boat 

By ASSOCIATED PRESS-1 January 2021 

The U.S. Coast Guard suspended its search Friday for a boat with about 20 people on board that was three days overdue to arrive in Florida after leaving the Bahamas earlier this week.

The Coast Guard and others searched more than 17,000 square miles (44,000 square kilometers) for about 84 hours before suspending the search around noon on Friday, Coast Guard officials said in a news release.

Officials have not released information about who was on the boat.

The U.S. Coast Guard suspended its search Friday for a boat with about 20 people on board that was three days overdue to arrive in Florida after leaving the Bahamas earlier this week (stock picture)

A map shows the area between Bimini in the Bahamas and Fort Worth, Florida where the small boat went missing

'Our thoughts and prayers go out to the families of the missing people,' said Capt. Stephen V. Burdian, Seventh District Chief of Response. 'I encourage anyone with information about the people aboard to contact us as soon as possible.'

The boat left Bimini, Bahamas, on Monday and was supposed to arrive in Lake Worth, Florida, on Tuesday. 

It was reported overdue that day and Coast Guard air and sea crews and aircraft from Patrick Air Force base in Brevard County were assisting the Royal Bahamas Defence Force and Bahamas Air Sea Rescue Association with the search. 

The U.S. Coast Guard was searching for a boat with about 20 people on board Thursday that was two days overdue to arrive in Florida after leaving the Bahamas on Monday.The boat left Bimini, Bahamas, on Monday and was supposed to arrive in Lake Worth on Tuesday. It was reported overdue that day and Coast Guard and Bahamian authorities began searching for it

The Coast Guard and others searched more than 17,000 square miles (44,000 square kilometers) for about 84 hours before suspending the search around noon on Friday, Coast Guard officials said in a news release

The boat is a 29-foot (9-meter) Mako Cuddy Cabin vessel.

There was no signal received from an Emergency Position-Indicating Radio Beacon either, said Petty Officer Jose Hernandez.

'When it touches the water or if it's activated in an emergency it would send us the location of that [vessel],' he said to The Sun Sentinel. 'It makes it a lot easier for us to deploy to that location.' 

'We don't care if they're illegals or drug trafficking,' Hernandez said. 'We don't want any lives lost at sea.' 

The boat had set sail from Bimini, the westernmost district of the Bahamas. 

It is the closest point to the mainland of the United States and approximately 50 miles east of Miami.

Anyone with information about the missing blue and white Mako Cuddy Cabin is asked to contact the Coast Guard District Seven Command Center at 305-415-6800. 

Bimini is the closest point to the mainland of the United States and approximately 50 miles east of Miami

WHAT IS THE BERMUDA TRIANGLE?

The Bermuda Triangle is a mythical section of the Atlantic Ocean roughly bounded by Miami, Bermuda, That Bahamas and Puerto Rico where dozens of ships and airplanes have disappeared. 

Unexplained circumstances surround some of these accidents.

Although a range of strange theories have been proposed regarding the Bermuda Triangle, none of them prove that mysterious disappearances occur more frequently there than in other well-traveled sections of the ocean. 

Many people navigate the area every day without incident.