Four more bodies found off Florida coast from capsized boat

The US coast guard said it would call off the search for survivors at sunset on Thursday if no new discoveries were made following a boat capsizing off the Florida coast at the weekend with 40 people on board.

Burdian said the coast guard would no longer be dedicating assets specifically to the search although it would retain its on-water presence.

That lone survivor, found clinging to the hull of the overturned boat, said the boat capsized late Saturday. He said 40 people had set out for Florida from Bimini, an island in the Bahamas, the archipelago nation located about 300 miles east from the US coast.

Burdian said the survivor had told rescuers that the boat sailed into a storm after leaving the Bahamas.

The majority of asylum seekers who attempt to reach Florida via sea hail from Haiti and Cuba.