The US Coast Guard are still scouring the seas for survivors after a suspected human smuggler boat capsized off the coast of Florida days earlier during a storm.

The incident left 38 missing, among whom one person has been confirmed to be dead. Another man was rescued on Tuesday morning after the Coast Guard was informed of a lone person sitting on the hull of a 25-foot upturned boat.

The survivor told the Coast Guard that the boat capsized after sailing into the storm on Saturday evening.

Also read | SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket to crash into the moon on March 5

After the wreck was spotted, the Coast Guard deployed at least four ships and five aircraft for search operations and scoured an area the size of New Jersey around the wreck, which is located some 64 kilometres from the city of Fort Pierce. However, no other survivors have been found thus far, nor have any more casualties been identified.

The rescued man told the Coast Guard that he was part of a 40-person crew that had departed the island of Bimini in the Bahamas in what the Coast Guard reportedly suspect to be a human smuggling operation. The rescued man also said that none aboard the boat had been wearing life jackets, making the chances of finding them alive slim.

Also read | Crypto requires regulation, not ban says Russian finance ministry official

“With every moment that passes, it becomes much more dire and more unlikely,” Captain Jo-Ann F. Burdian of the Coast Guard told a press conference.

“We are using every piece of information we can to make sure we are exhausting our search efforts, but we can’t search forever,” added Captain Buardian, emphasizing the gravity of the situation.

The survivor, meanwhile, was rescued with symptoms of dehydration and sun exposure, and is reportedly in the custody of the Department of Homeland Security as he recovers.