(CNN) — Nine people were believed to be missing in the water miles off Florida’s Key West after 15 others were rescued from the same area Tuesday, the Coast Guard said, after Tropical Storm Elsa whipped the area.
The search for the nine continued into the night, the Coast Guard said.
Details about what led to the rescues weren’t immediately available.
The Coast Guard was alerted Tuesday by people on a bulk carrier ship, whose crew found people in the water 23 miles southwest of Key West, it said.
That ship’s crew rescued two people, the Coast Guard said.
A Coast Guard ship responded to the area, and its small boat crew rescued 13 more people from the water, the service said.
The service sent two cutters, two helicopters and a plane for the search, the Coast Guard said.
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