July 7, 2021- 2:26 p.m.
KEY WEST, Fla. — The U.S. Coast Guard and a good as Tropical Storm Elsa approached, the agency said.
The nine men and four women were taken aboard the Coast Guard Cutter Thetis on Tuesday afternoon, some 26 miles (42 kilometers) southeast of Key West, the agency said in a news release.
The crew from the Western Carmen contacted watch standers at the Coast Guard’s Sector Key West around 1:30 p.m. Tuesday to report they had found four people in the water.
Tropical Storm Elsa crossed Cuba before entering the Gulf of Mexico on Tuesday morning, and battered the region with wind and rain.
Crews from the Coast Guard cutters Thetis and William Trump remained in the area to search for the missing people, the agency said.
