1 Body Recovered, 38 Missing After Boat Capsizes Off FL Coast

MIAMI, FL — The U.S. Coast Guard confirmed Wednesday morning that a body has been recovered as the search continues off Florida's coast for 38 people missing after their boat capsized over the weekend.

"It is dire. The longer they remain in the water, exposed to the marine environment, the sun, the sea conditions, every moment that passes becomes much more dire and the likelihood that anyone could survive this," Capt. Jo-Ann Burdian said during a news conference in Miami.

According to Burdian, around 8 a.m. Tuesday a commercial mariner headed to Jacksonville notified the U.S. Coast Guard's Sector Miami Command Center after locating a capsized 25-foot-vessel about 40 miles east of Fort Pierce.

"That good Samaritan of that vessel stopped and rescued a person from the vessel and kept him onboard while he waited for a Coast Guard vessel who retrieved the person and transported them ashore for medical care," Burdian said.

The survivor reported leaving Bimini in the Bahamas on Saturday evening with 39 other people onboard the boat. However, it capsized shortly after they departed due to severe weather in the area, the U.S. Coast Guard said.

"The survivor was not wearing a life jacket and reported that no one else on board was wearing a life jacket," Burdian said. "His condition is stable."

During Wednesday's news conference, Burdian said it's believed the boat capsized following a suspected smuggling attempt. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has been called in to assist with the investigation.

"This event occurred during a normal route for human smuggling from the Bahamas into the Southeast U.S.," she said.

In addition to the U.S. Coast Guard, officials said state and local agencies continue to assist with the search, which has covered roughly 7,500 nautical miles or about the size of New Jersey. However, Buridian said that as more time passes, finding additional survivors becomes less likely.

Watch the news conference below: