Coast Guard suspends search for crew after boat sinks off Massachusetts

The search for missing crewmembers from a commercial fishing vessel that sank off the coast of Massachusetts has been suspended, the US Coast Guard has said.

Seven people were reported aboard the Lily Jean when the Coast Guard received an emergency alert early on Friday morning from the fishing boat, located about 25 miles off Cape Ann.

During the search, crews discovered a debris field near the alert's location, along with a body in the water and an unoccupied life raft.

The Lily Jean appeared on the History Channel fishing miniseries Nor'easter Men, a three-hour documentary highlighting draggers from several New England ports.

Officials said on Saturday that "all reasonable search efforts for the missing crewmembers had been exhausted". The identities of the person who was recovered and those who remain missing have not been released.

"The decision to suspend the search was incredibly difficult," said Capt Jamie Frederick, commander of Coast Guard Sector Boston. "Our thoughts and prayers are with all the family members and friends of the lost crew of the Lilly Jean, and with the entire Gloucester community during this heartbreaking time."

The Coast Guard said the vessel sent no mayday call while returning through the frigid Atlantic to Gloucester, Massachusetts. The search crew was notified by the vessel's emergency beacon that sends distress signals when it hits the water.

"The skipper of this vessel is well known to all of us," state Senator Bruce Tarr told CBS, the BBC's US news partner. "He's one of the kindest, nicest individuals on the face of this earth. He is very skilled, his family comes from a tradition of fishing, and he is one of those in this port that is considered among the best."

Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey said in a statement that she was "heartbroken" about the sinking of the Lily Jean.

"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 wrote on Facebook. "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."

Gloucester, America's oldest working fishing port, served as the backdrop for the George Clooney movie The Perfect Storm, about the fishing vessel Andrea Gail and its crew lost in a deadly storm.