US Coast Guard suspends search for missing boaters following capsize in Florida's St. Johns River

The US Coast Guard has suspended its search for three people who went missing after a boat overturned in the St. Johns River in Florida pending the development of new information.

Coast guard crews searched by air and sea for approximately 17 hours, covering more than 270 square miles (700 square kilometres) following the capsizing on Friday, March 21.

On Friday, Coast Guard Sector Jacksonville command center watchstanders received a report via VHF-FM channel 16 of an overturned 18-foot (5.5-metre) vessel with four people on top of the vessel and an additional four people possibly underneath the vessel.

No one aboard the vessel was reportedly wearing lifejackets.

The four people on top of the vessel were rescued by a Jacksonville Sheriff's Office marine unit, and one person was recovered from the water unresponsive.

A Coast Guard Station Mayport rescue surface swimmer attempted to contact the people reportedly underneath the vessel but received no responses. Jacksonville Sheriff's Office divers searched underneath the vessel but did not locate any people.

The coast guard Marine Protector-class patrol boat USCGC Coho (pictured) also participated in the search. Other agencies that were involved included the Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department, the Clay County Sheriff's Office, and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

The cause of the capsizing is under investigation.