By Brian Ellsworth

MIAMI, Reuters – U.S. Coast Guard reported Wednesday that they have located one body after searching for 39 persons missing from their boat. It was found in the Atlantic Ocean off Florida. This is what’s being called a “human smuggling” attempt.

Jo-Ann Burdian was the Commander U.S. Coast Guard. She stated during a press conference that search efforts for survivors will continue all day. The announcement came a day after Jo-Ann Burdian found a man under the hull of an overturned boat, and helped rescue him.

A good Samaritan alerted Coast Guard and they dispatched helicopters and rescue ships to find more victims. In a posted statement online, Coast Guard stated that the survivor had told authorities that he left the Bahamas’ Bimini island, 50 miles (80km), east of Miami in a boat with 39 people.

The survivor claims that the vessel of the group capsized in rough weather on Sunday morning, approximately 45 miles (72km) east from Fort Pierce Inlet. This is off Florida’s Atlantic Coast, about halfway between Miami and Cape Canaveral. However, no one was wearing life jackets, according to Coast Guard.

The victim was treated for sunburns and dehydration at a local hospital.

According to Coast Guard, the accident occurred at the same time as a small-craft advisory was posted in the vicinity. The steady winds were clocked up to 23 miles per hour and the seas are 9 feet (3 meters) high, according to Coast Guard.

The statement stated that Coast Guard cutter teams, helicopter teams and search planes as well as a U.S. Navy crew traversed an area of more than 1,300 miles (3,367 km) on Wednesday morning between Bimini Inlet and Fort Pierce Inlet.

In a Twitter message (NYSE:), the agency stated that they were investigating “a possible human smuggling enterprise.” According to a Coast Guard spokesperson Jose Hernandez, however, it is not known what the nationalities are of those aboard.