Florida woman missing after yacht catches fire

MONROE COUNTY, Fla. (WFLA) — A woman is missing after a yacht caught fire early Wednesday morning in the Florida Keys.

The Monroe County Sheriff's Office said the 70-foot Viking yacht caught fire around 12:10 a.m. at the Peary Hotel & Marina on Stock Island.

A 51-year-old woman from St. Petersburg was nowhere to be found in the aftermath of the fire, authorities said.

Deputies said two men, ages 58 and 21, were also on the boat when the fire started. They were both airlifted to a trauma center in Miami.

Another family of four that was on board was able to escape the boat uninjured.

The group was in the Florida Keys for lobster mini-season, the sheriff's office said. The two-day season started Wednesday.

The Monroe County Fire Rescue said the boat was fully engulfed when they arrived at the scene. They battled the fire for about three hours.

The sheriff's office said its dive team and TowBoat U.S. crews were searching for the woman in hazardous conditions where the vessel sank in the marina.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.