Nine people missing in waters off Key West as Elsa bears down on Florida

Nine people are missing in waters off Key West after the area was hit by Tropical Storm Elsa. 

The U.S. Coast Guard said in a tweet Tuesday that nine people were missing in waters off Key West and they would continue to search through the night for them.

The Coast Guard’s Cutter Thetis crew members, with the help of a good Samaritan, rescued 13 people 26 miles from Key West after their boat sunk, the Coast Guard said Wednesday.

Thirteen people were pulled from the water, while seven men and two women are still missing in the waters, the survivors told the Coast Guard. The boat had departed from Cuba.

Photos from the Coast Guard show survivors being rescued amid heavy rain.

#UPDATE 3 more survivors were rescued. Photos of the scene from @USCG Cutter Thetis. The search for more survivors continue as we evaluate the health and provide medical attention for those rescued. pic.twitter.com/9eD0VeioGI

— USCGSoutheast (@USCGSoutheast) July 6, 2021

“The Cutter Thetis along with the Cutter William Trump remained on scene and are continuing to search for the nine missing people,” the Coast Guard said in a statement.

Key West experienced power outages and flooding when Elsa passed through, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) said.

Much of Florida is under a state of emergency as Elsa was expected to hit Florida as a Category 1 hurricane, but was downgraded to a tropical storm before landfall.