A fishing trip turned tragic off Provincetown on Thursday when a vessel capsized roughly three nautical miles northeast of Race Point, leaving one person dead and another still unaccounted for as of late afternoon.
The U.S. Coast Guard said rescue aircraft and surface crews were launched shortly before noon after a report that a boat had overturned. Local police, fire, and harbormaster units rushed to join the response, and the search effort stretched through the early afternoon.
By around 2:10 p.m., one person had been found deceased. Crews remained on scene to continue searching for the second person, officials said.
According to NBC Boston, the overturned boat was identified as the fishing vessel Yankee Rose. The Coast Guard said there were two people aboard when it flipped and that multiple aircraft and small boats were deployed to the area.
Vessel background
The Yankee Rose is no stranger to emergency responders in Provincetown. In late February, it was involved in a separate incident that sent multiple people to the hospital for suspected carbon monoxide exposure, a stark reminder of the hazards that can lurk on working boats, especially during storms and power outages.
That earlier episode left two crew members and several first responders evaluated at Cape Cod Hospital, WBUR reported. At the time, town officials warned boat owners and crews about the dangers of running generators in enclosed spaces on vessels.
Search and response
On Thursday, crews from Coast Guard Air Station Cape Cod arrived at the scene of the capsized vessel at about 12:06 p.m., according to federal officials. The body recovery followed a little more than two hours later, at roughly 2:10 p.m.
The Provincetown town manager’s office said the Coast Guard, state environmental police, and local police, fire, and harbormaster units all took part in the operation. With the federal investigation underway on the water, local officials referred additional questions to the Coast Guard, according to NBC Boston.
The Coast Guard has not released the names of the people involved, nor has it announced an official cause for the overturn. Investigators were expected to continue searching the area and assess the vessel itself.
Authorities are asking anyone who was near Race Point on Thursday and has video, photos, or information related to the overturn to contact local law enforcement or the Coast Guard.
