The TV star fisherman who vanished with his crew off the coast of Massachusetts after their boat sank reportedly had a concerning call with his pal – hours before the tragedy on Friday.
Gus Sanfilippo, skipper of the Lily Jean, and six others are presumed dead after their 72-foot fishing vessel capsized when temperatures at sea were a bone-chilling 12 degrees.
Fisherman Sebastian Noto claimed he spoke with Sanfilippo — a fifth-generation commercial fisherman out of Gloucester, Mass. — at around 3 a.m, where the two discussed the outdoor conditions.
“I quit. It’s too cold,” Sanfilippo reportedly told Noto, according to NBC Boston. “He was calm. He just couldn’t do the cold because the air holes were freezing.”
Noto became concerned when there was no sign of Sanfilippo hours later.
“I was about 30 miles east of him. We usually work together all the time. We are like glue man. We give a lot of information back-and-forth,” Noto told the outlet.
A Coast Guard helicopter and boat scrambled to the area where the boat sent a beacon alert distress signal – around 25 miles off the coast of Cape Ann, Mass. This search was suspended on Saturday.
There was no Mayday call from the vessel and around 1,000 square miles were searched, according to Coast Guard officials.
Crews deployed aircraft, cutters and small boats over 24 hours as they battled polar conditions.
“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 cause of the incident is under investigation
Sanfilippo and his crew on the Lily Jean starred in an episode of “Nor’Easter Men” which aired on the History Channel in 2012. The crew spent days at sea trying to find seafood.
One body has been found and six others are missing, according to WFXT. An empty life raft and debris were also found in the water.
Environmental biology graduate Jada Samitt, 22, was on board the boat, her family told the outlet.
Her devastated aunt Heather Michaels said being at sea was Samitt’s “dream.”
“This is something she loved and put her heart and soul into,” Michaels said.
Vito Giacalone, head of the Gloucester Fishing Community Preservation Fund, said he was left “heartbroken” by the sinking.
“To have that many lives lost all at once, we haven’t seen that in a long time.”
With Post wires
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