A TV show fisherman and his crew are presumed dead after their boat sank into freezing water off the coast of Massachusetts on Saturday.
Gus Sanfilippo, his crew, and a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) fishery observer were on the boat when the Coast Guard received a radio beacon alert shortly before 7am.
The alert was registered to Sanfilippo’s 72-foot boat, the Lily Jean.
The Coast Guard issued an emergency alert after not being able to get in contact with the crew, according to the agency.
The agency sent a helicopter and boat crew to the location. When rescuers arrived, they found one person dead, floating in the water, along with a debris field and an empty lifeboat.
The deceased person was not identified by officials. The remaining six men are presumed dead.
‘We will continue to search throughout the night,’ Coast Guard Commander Timothy Jones, who is coordinating the search and rescue, said on Friday.
He noted that the sea spray was freezing on vessels and caused a serious danger to both the missing fishing boat and rescuers.
Gus Sanfilippo, his crew, and a NOAA fishery observer were on the Lily Jean when a radio beacon alert went off shortly before 7am
One body was found in the water, six people remain missing. They also found debris from the boat and an empty lifeboat. The Lily Jean is pictured
Sanfilippo is a fifth-generation commercial fisherman, fishing out of Gloucester, Massachusetts, in the Georges Bank.
He was featured along with The Lily Jean and its crew in a 2012 episode of the History Channel show Nor´Easter Men.
The crew was shown working in dangerous weather conditions for hours on end, spending as many as 10 days at sea on one trip fishing for haddock, lobster and flounder.
The Coast Guard’s Sector Boston Commander Jamie Frederick acknowledged frigid temperatures, stormy conditions and the vast ocean makes finding survivors at night difficult, a task made more challenging with a nor’easter approaching the East Coast this weekend.
‘That is the equivalent of searching for a coconut in the ocean,’ Frederick said.
At the time of the emergency alert, the National Weather Service said wind speeds out at sea were around 27 mph with waves around four feet high. It was 12 degrees with water temperatures about 39 degrees.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said Friday it was aware that there was a fishery observer on board the vessel. Fishery observers are workers who collect data on board fishing boats for the government to use to inform regulations.
The Daily Mail has reached out to the Coast Guard for comment.
The crew appeared on a Nor’Easter Men, where they were filmed working in dangerous weather conditions for hours on end
Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey said she was ‘heartbroken’ to hear about the boat’s sinking
Sanfilippo is a fifth-generation commercial fisherman, fishing out of Gloucester, Massachusetts (pictured)
Deep-sea fishing in New England can always be hazardous, but it can be especially dangerous in the winter because of high waves, frigid temperatures and unpredictable weather. Commercial fishing is often cited as one of the most dangerous jobs in the world.
‘Commercial fishing is a really tough living to begin with, and it’s as safe as the elements and all of the things allow it to be,’ Giacalone said. ‘Gus was a very seasoned experienced fisherman.’
Gloucester Council President Tony Gross, a retired fisherman who had joined other elected officials at the harbor in the city after learning of the missing boat, called it a ‘huge tragedy for this community.’
‘The families are just devastated at this point,’ Gross said. ‘They are half full of hope and half full of dread, I would imagine.’
Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey said she was ‘heartbroken’ to hear about the boat’s sinking.
‘I am praying for the crew, and my heart goes out to their loved ones and all Gloucester fishing families during this awful time,’ she said in a statement.
‘Fishermen and fishing vessels are core to the history, economy and culture of Gloucester and Cape Ann, and this tragedy is felt all across the state.’
Republican State Senator Bruce Tarr, who confirmed seven people were on the vessel, grew emotional as he talked about Sanfilippo, who was a good friend.
‘He’s a person that has a big smile, and he gives you a warm embrace when he sees you,’ Tarr said. ‘He is very, very skilled at what he does.’
Tarr said the ‘fact that vessel now rests at the bottom of the ocean is very hard to understand,’ given the owner´s experience.
‘This is a community that has felt this type of loss in the past,’ Tarr said. ‘I´m going to make a prediction. Tonight, tomorrow and the days that follow, no matter what happens, you’re going to see the strength, strength that has made this the most historic fishing port in the United States.’
Vito Giacalone, head of the Gloucester Fishing Community Preservation Fund, said he knows Sanfilippo from the captain’s early days in commercial fishing and knew him as a hard worker from a fishing family.
He said he and the fishing industry in Gloucester, a community where commercial fishing is a longstanding way of life, are distraught.
‘He did well for himself. I was proud of him,’ Giacalone said. ‘And now the dock we own, he ties his boat at the dock so we see him every day. He’s been to all my kids´ weddings. That’s how close we were. I feel a sense of loss. A lot of us do.’
Everett Sawyer, 55, a childhood friend of Sanfilippo, said that he is still processing the news of his disappearance. ‘He was hardworking. He loved fishing,’ he said.
After more than five decades living and working near the Atlantic Ocean, Sawyer said he has known 25 people who were lost at sea. Cold winter conditions can complicate operations even for experienced sailors, Sawyer said.
‘Things happen very quickly when you’re out on the ocean,’ he said.
